BATTLING DEMONS IN OPEN SEASON
AUSTRALIA’S top-ranked male tennis player forced himself to reevaluate his perspective last year as he struggled with the challenges of COVID-19 life.
Alex de Minaur enjoyed an outstanding 2019 season that saw him break into the world’s top 20 for the first time, then he beat fellow phenoms Alex Zverev and Denis Shapovalov in last year’s ATP Cup.
The 21-year-old’s ability to snatch a set off Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the same tournament seemed to announce his readiness to challenge for an exclusive top-10 spot.
However, an abdominal injury caused him to withdraw from the Australian Open, then he lost his first match back in Mexico in late February, before the coronavirus shut the tour down.
De Minaur – affectionately known as ‘Demon’ – spent the months following at his Alicante home in the southeast of Spain, all the while desperate to be back playing. Even once he resumed, the typically energetic Sydneysider battled to cope with quarantine bubbles at tournaments and not being able to operate normally.
“I wasn’t really happy on court and it got to the point last year where I felt I had to change that, and had to have a look at myself in the mirror and put in the work with my psychologist,” de Minaur said.
“I feel like after the French Open, I was able to take a step back and focus on what I needed to do, so I believe this year will be different.
“It’s definitely looking like COVID will be around for a while, but I feel like I’m definitely ready for any adversity that comes this way … so it doesn’t take us by surprise now.”
De Minaur’s year-end ranking dipped slightly from No.18 to 23, but the silver lining in his difficult season was a maiden grand slam quarterfinal at the US Open. He rallied from two-sets-to-one down to oust former top-10 player Karen Khachanov during that run. After a disappointing first-round loss at Roland Garros, de Minaur was able to regather himself and reach the Antwerp final, then push world No.5 Daniil Medvedev to three sets at the Paris Masters.
“I would say we were very fortunate to be able to play tournaments in such a difficult year,” de Minaur said.
“There were a lot of times in that year that were very tough, and not only as tennis players but for the rest of the world. We’re never going to take free time for granted anymore.”
De Minaur is hanging out to visit his favourite Melbourne coffee haunts and breakfast spots.
The hope is having that sense of freedom again will drive him towards another deep grand slam showing, once he clears quarantine after winning the Antalya title two weeks ago.
“I’m feeling great. I feel like I’m playing a very high level of tennis and I feel one of the biggest goals for me is just to keep making second weeks of slams,” de Minaur said. “I feel like I’m doing all the right things, and we’ll have ATP Cup to kind of gauge where I’m at and hopefully I can play and bring my best tennis for the Australian summer. I’ve definitely missed it, it’s been a while and I can’t wait to play in front of home fans.”