ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2024

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/J.L. Struff

4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congrats. If you can walk us through the difficult conditions, the key today.

ALEX de MINAUR: Another huge mental battle. I would probably say, yeah, it was one of my best performances mentally I've had probably in my career to turn that match around with the conditions, with everything really against me.

Yeah, I'm extremely stoked to have made the second week of Roland Garros.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What were you telling yourself when you were down that set and a service break early in the second set?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I knew that the conditions of the day, everything couldn't get any worse, right? I knew that this was just ideal conditions to a T, right? It's slow, heavy, rainy, muddy. He's able to hit through the court and not really make a lot of mistakes.

I just told myself that, you know, the only chance or way I was going to win this match was just to fight till the end, fight every single point, keep battling, try to stay in no matter what, and that's what got me the win.

I mean, I battled through, and I managed to turn it around at times where it looked quite dark out there, and, yeah, I'm very happy with that.

Q. Were there any moments during the match where you're thinking that fourth round is within reach? Did the fourth-round aspect cross your mind at all?

ALEX de MINAUR: Not at all. I went into this match knowing that it was going to be brutal from the get-go. Again, at no stage in that match did I feel like I was thinking ahead, because I knew that, again, I was suffering till the very last point. That's the honest feeling I had out there. Almost every service game I was fighting off breakpoints.

There was never a stage where I felt like, okay, I'm in command, I'm in control, I'm just going to run away with this. In fact, I'm quite happy that I was able to break to win that match, because if I had to serve another game, trying to fight him off, it would have been quite tough (smiling).

Q. Does a win like that, when the guy's firing lights out, looks as though he can't miss, to come through that, does it make you feel you can beat anybody, basically?

ALEX de MINAUR: Oh, it's huge. I mean, it's huge for the confidence, huge for just also rewarding yourself for the hard work and staying in the match, right? A lot of the times, you know, you do your best, you fight your hardest.

But, you know, this is tennis. Sometimes you don't get rewarded. But a day like today where, you know, I'm backed against the wall, a lot of things going against me, and managing to kind of find the gold at the end of the tunnel is huge.

It kind of gives me that confidence that, you know, I can do it again and again now.

Q. Next round, it's not going to be stop-start tennis with the weather. You'll be on one of the covered courts. How much, if you can address that aspect, but also the fact that it's Medi next?

ALEX de MINAUR: Jeez, I'm not too sure how I'm going to deal with playing a full match from start to finish. It's going to be a new experience (smiling). I don't know. Completely different tournament now.

Yeah, again, it is, you know, two different tournaments, because obviously the seeds, they've earned the right to play on these courts, but they've had fairly routine schedules, matches, you know, no stop-starts like we had today.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to, you know, have won enough matches to put myself in a good court. So I'm quite excited again to play Medi, and these are the types of matches I wanted to be playing at the start of the week, and I'm excited to put myself in that position again.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, earlier today Sabalenka and Badosa were playing each other, kind of best mates. How do you find it playing against people you're close to and how you manage the camaraderie with your compatriots and what have you, and also the fact you're kind of rivals at the same time?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, it's a different dynamic, right? Because tennis is such a lonely sport out there, and there are very few kind of friendships that you would have on the tennis. It's also very rarely you have one of those matches where you're, like, playing a friend.

I think probably the best way to go about it, and I think the best way to respect each other is just to go out there like it's any other match. I think, you know, everyone kind of understands the fact that you're going out there to compete and to win a match.

You know, whatever happens on the court doesn't really affect kind of the friendship afterwards.

Q. So you can kind of snap back in?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I believe so. If anything, if you lose a match or you win a match, you probably get bragging rights for a week or two until you play each other the next week. But I don't think it affects the friendship in any way, shape, or form.

Q. It is a familiar rival next, but I think a first in terms of meeting on this surface. What sort of tactics or what do you do when you play against Daniil on clay? How do you assess that matchup?

ALEX de MINAUR: It's a completely different matchup to today. I mean, today I was on the back foot at all stages. Had a player that was trying to take control, come to the net, not staying in too long of rallies.

Probably against Medvedev it's going to be a lot of grueling rallies, a lot of very tactical awareness from both of us, a lot of variety, a lot of kind of change of pace, good movement from both.

So it should be hopefully fun to play him on the clay. I have yet to do that, so hopefully we can play a good match and, yeah, I can go out there and show what I can do.

Q. At the end there you were really pumped up clearly at the end, meant such a lot to you obviously. You ran across to some young lad and gave him something. Who was that?

ALEX de MINAUR: That young lad was there from the very first point till the last with five hours of rain delay. He was this little kid that every single change of ends, every single point I won, he was screaming at my face. You know, I'm, like, looking at him and thinking of, you know, if I was a fan, I would probably be back home, because it was bloody cold out there.

I don't understand what this kid is doing, but, oh, he gave me life. Every single change of ends I'm looking at him, locking eyes with him. I just gave him a hug. I was, like, Mate... It was a relief more than anything. It was amazing. I appreciate this kid (smiling).

You know, yeah, the fact that he's spent 10 hours at the court today in the freezing cold pumping me up, I was happy that I was able to get a win together with him.

Q. What did you give him?

ALEX de MINAUR: Gave him a towel. I would have given him everything in my bag (smiling). I mean, I just wasn't thinking straight with the emotions, but he deserved everything; racquets, shoes, whatever he wanted.