NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 13, 2023

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

J. SINNER/A. de Minaur

6-4, 6-1

ALEX DE MINAUR

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. In what ways was it challenging to play against Jannik? What did he do to make it so challenging for you today?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Yeah, look, Jannik is a hell of a player. He's got some of the hardest ground strokes I've probably ever dealt, to be honest. All these things I knew coming in. I knew what to expect.

I think, ultimately, he kind of executed his game plan a little bit better than I was able to do mine.

Today, the plan was to try to neutralize as much as I could, try to keep my depth. And as soon as I had a chance, try to take control of the rally, dictate, come in and be aggressive, and all that.

But, yeah, look, he played an extremely high level. I think he returned really well, as well. You know, I was constantly under pressure on my serve.

And, yeah, it was just one of those days. He deserved it today. He came out and played a very high level.

Q. Obviously, not the result you wanted today, but overall a fantastic week for you. How do you take the momentum from this week and keep it going forward for the rest of the summer?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Well, the good thing is that last week I lost in the final and it didn't affect me for this week. So, hopefully, that's the case for next week again.

Yeah, just keep on going. Mindset doesn't change. To be honest, I'm probably not even going to have the chance to switch off at all. It's just going to have to stay locked in.

And kind of already have my mind focused on my next match probably come Tuesday.

Q. Obviously, it was a great week for you. You also had a great week in Los Cabos. How happy are you with your game right now coming to the hard court season and, obviously, now you go to Cinci and the US Open? How comfortable are you on court and maybe what things would you like to just get better?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Yeah, I think overall, looking at the results, I'm pretty happy with where my level is at and, you know, how I'm continuously chipping away towards my goals. And step by step, I feel like I'm getting better. I'm showing my level against top opponents, day in and day out.

And this week was a great week for me. I'm feeling confident. Still got areas which I need to improve on, and I think it's going to be the case my whole career. But that's the beauty of it.

I'm going to be ranked 12 on Monday, and I've still got plenty and plenty of areas to improve on. So it's exciting for me.

Q. I want to zoom out a bit and talk about your year. I was looking at your historic first serve velocity and it seems to be going up bit by bit every year. And then on the grass courts this summer, I think you hit some serves that were above 130 miles per hour. Does increased physical strength and your aggression on the first serve have anything to do with this kind of renaissance you're having?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Yeah, I'm sure it is. It's been no secret that that's an area of my game that I've been constantly trying to improve. I mean, I know that probably up there with one of the things that is going to take me to the next level is to be able to get more free points on serve; right?

And I think you're able to see it in all the players. I think Jannik today was a great example. Even all week, you know, I think he's put in a lot of work on his serve, and you were able to see the difference. And he got a lot of serves hitting the spots at a very high speed and got him a couple free points when he really needed it, which was kind of key.

And probably today I didn't get too many free points on my serve, but that was also due to some great returning by Jannik.

But, yeah, getting stronger, getting a bit more physical. Not having to run from side to side every goddamn point would be nice as well.

So it's a couple things in the works, for sure.

Q. Especially in the first set, which was very close, it looked like you were trying to take some pace off the ball and you, essentially, managed to get to 5-4. What happened in that tenth game that actually made the score go his way and why did you change the strategy the second set trying to hit the ball a bit harder?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Yeah, look, I think the first set I struggled to hold serve. And I think it was from the same end which I ended up getting broken to lose the set.

And, yeah, the game plan was that. Trying to mix up my speeds, trying to not give him pace all the time because he's very good with pace. I tried to mix in some slices and some slower balls.

But, yeah, ultimately, then it got to a level where I felt like he started to dictate a little bit more, and I was on the back foot a lot more.

He started to feel his ground strokes a little bit more. I tried to push myself and be a little bit more aggressive, which kind of, you know, had a bit of a negative effect, obviously, today.

And I think, look, accumulation of a lot of matches in the last two weeks, kind of started to feel it a little bit. So all these things ended up, you know, the second set not being as tight as I would have liked to.

But we move on. Next week is a new week, and excited for that.

Q. Congrats on a great week. Just wanted to follow up on something you mentioned yesterday when you said you wanted to prove a lot of people wrong because a lot of people don't have belief. Just wondering who you are referring to. Is it peers in the tennis word? Tennis Twitter? Who do you mean?

ALEX DE MINAUR: Look, I think, ultimately, you know, the tennis world maybe isn't as excited what I've got to bring to the court is probably the way I would describe it.

And, you know, a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to get to the position I am and the amount of work that's kind of gone into it. And exactly for the reason that, you know, you guys see probably day in and day out. I don't have, you know, a massive serve which I get free points or able to hit winners from any side of the court.

I'm the type of guy that's got to work for every point. I've got to find solutions. I've got to look at my opponent and try to find his weakness and exploit it; right?

So a lot of people might not appreciate what it takes to be where I am right now. But the beauty of that is that I know I'm going to push every single ounce that I've got in my body, in myself, to get to the best level that I can. And that's the beauty of it.

And I'll be very happy once I'm retired and I'm sitting on my couch, and I'll be able to look at my career and say, You know what? I achieved great things just by pure hard work and determination.