AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2023

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/Y. Hsu

6-2, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Alex, congratulations. Smooth win for you to cruise into the second round. How would you rate your performance today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Very happy with the performance. Tricky opponent. It's never easy starting in your home slam. Did what I needed to do. Happy. Played a good level throughout the three sets.

Yeah, quite happy with the performance.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your preparation, going to Kooyong last week, United Cup, how do you feel it's prepared you for the tournament? You said on court you felt as good as you've felt going into an Australian Open. Has that been the ideal preparation for you?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think a big change I probably did last year was the weeks prior to a slam, decided not to play those tournaments because in the past I did very well in the weeks prior, then ended up probably not reaching the slam as physically fit as I would have liked to. That's been a big focus.

I think the preparation I had, obviously would have loved to play a couple more matches at the United Cup, but I managed to get some great matches at Kooyong, feeling great. Had a great week of practice. Feeling refreshed with a lot of energy.

Happy with how we've scheduled, we've come out with the team, come out with this plan.

Q. Given the weather today, super hot, then the rain, it must be nice to get through three sets pretty quickly. Do you feel like that can be an advantage when you take on either Isner or Mannarino?

ALEX de MINAUR: Geez, it's been a tricky day for everyone involved. I've been fortunate enough to have been scheduled on one of the three courts with a roof, so was able to kind of have my day not broken up too much. I've been fortunate like that.

But, yeah, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, see if they end up getting on today. I don't know how the weather's looking out there, if it looks like it's going to rain a little bit more or not.

Yeah, it's been a long day. For a lot of the players, it would have been very hard to kind of stop, adjust, adapt, and get ready to stop/start their matches on and on.

Kudos to all the players that had to deal with that today.

Q. Mannarino, Isner, both accomplished players. You've had John a couple of times on hard courts. Adrian you beat in Atlanta last year on the way to the title. What sort of challenges do they present?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, against John, I'm yet to beat him. He's an accomplished player, a veteran, a very tricky opponent. He's got the level to be able to take the racquet out of your hands. Ultimately that's not ideal when you go up against him 'cause ultimately you could play your best match and still lose, or play your worst match and still have chances.

I'm going to have to be very tough mentally and be very positive, because I can guarantee there's going to be a couple aces going by me. I've kind of got to try to keep my same mantra: calm, collected, and positive. That's the plan if I do play Isner.

Now if I play Mannarino, we've had a couple battles. I know what's coming. He's a tricky opponent. He's going to fight till the end.

I'll be getting ready for a four- or five-set battle, for sure.

Q. Is this your first slam with Peter Luczak in your corner?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yes, it is. We started at the start of this year. But I've known Peter for a long time. We've gone back, done a lot of Davis Cup matches together. It's been good to have him around. He's keeping a very positive mindset, keeping kind of me calm.

I tend to be quite hard on myself, so he's kind of trying to remind me that I'm doing well, that I'm doing the right things, and to kind of enjoy every second out there.

Q. Was it him that wrote on your tennis bag or...

ALEX de MINAUR: No that was actually me. That was a moment of brilliance from me (laughter).

No, at the moment I've got that song in my head at all times. I'm listening before I step out on court. I just want that message ingrained in my head.

Whenever there's a tough moment out there, I just kind of try to sing that song in my head and avoid any negative thoughts and try to stay positive out there.

Q. When you see other Aussie guys, like Johnny and Rinky yesterday, what they have done on the court yesterday, do you take some inspiration from those guys?

ALEX de MINAUR: I mean, how good was that? It honestly makes me smile just seeing those results and seeing fellow teammates doing so well. Rinky coming from two sets to love down. I mean, that's a hell of a performance to get a main Grand Slam win.

Johnny, he's the ultimate warrior out there. I knew as soon as he stepped out on court there was no chance he wasn't going to win that match in five sets. He's just built for it.

To see the crowd support, the people getting behind, it's just special. We're at a home slam. That's the type of energy that the crowd brings to us Aussie tennis players. Even Kubs. He's playing some incredible tennis. He's doing what everyone knew he could do. Had an amazing summer. I'm sure he's going to have an amazing year, as well.

Q. Nick out, Ash retired, at different stages you've been the clear No. 1, how do you approach that as the standard bearer going into Davis Cup, Grand Slam tournaments? Do you embrace that or try to keep that spotlight away from you?

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, I've been in this position a while. Yeah, in Davis Cup obviously. I kind of cherish it. I know what is asked from me. I know that at times I've got some pressure on myself to deliver. I take it with pride ultimately.

Now, here at a Grand Slam, we're in the second round of a Grand Slam. There's still a long, long way to go. I try to look at it more as me individually and try to focus on my goals and get as deep as I can.

That's the plan. That's the goal. Get deep, enjoy myself, and keep getting better every day.