Wait and see for injured de Minaur

AUSTRALIAN No.1 Alex de Minaur will fly to Melbourne today, with his preparation for next week’s Australian Open still uncertain following an abdominal injury picked up during last week’s ATP Cup.

“I started to feel something from the second match of the ATP Cup, against (Denis) Shapovalov. I just thought it was general tightness and you just play through it,” he said.

“When you are playing for your country you don’t worry about those things as much, you try and push your body to the limits and that’s what happened.”

De Minaur will rest for a couple of days when he lands in Melbourne.

“It’s something that overnight is not going to get better, but we are going to do everything we can to get in the best possible shape for Melbourne.”

The 20-year-old confirmed he had been desperate to play at the Adelaide International and said the city had a special place in his affections after he won his first Davis Cup match there against Bosnia and

Herzegovina almost 12 months ago.

Pulling out was a decision based on recovering in time to play the Australian Open.

“Yesterday was a bit shattering, but today I am in a way better mood and hopefully come Monday next week I am ready to go for five hours again,” he said in reference to his narrow, and epic, defeat against world No.1 Rafael Nadal on Saturday in Sydney.

Almost a year after he lost to Nadal at the Australian Open his game has come on immensely, he said.