Demon: ‘Time to focus on tennis, not Novak’
ALEX de Minaur wants the Australian Open to be about tennis again rather than the Novak Djokovic circus.
Australia’s No.1 men’s player was again drowned in Djokovic questions on the weekend ahead of his first-round Open clash with Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti.
After politely answering the first bunch, de Minaur delivered a line that left no doubt about his thoughts on how the world No.1’s anti-vax stance and visa status had impacted the tournament.
“This whole situation has taken a lot of spotlight away from us competitors,” he said.
“We’re here to play the
Australian Open. We’re here on our own terms, ready to compete and hopefully have a very good couple of weeks.
“It feels like it’s taking away from us competitors, who just want to start. We’re eager to go out and compete. The Australian Open is always an incredible
event, my home slam, my favourite tournament.
“To be honest, I’m just ready to put all of this behind me and focus on playing my tennis matches and kind of let my tennis do the talking.”
De Minaur certainly did that at last week’s ATP Cup in
Sydney, where he defeated world No.7 Matteo Berrettini and talented Frenchman Ugo Humbert to dispel any lingering doubts about his form.
The 22-year-old won only five of his last 17 matches last year after securing the Eastbourne title on grass ahead of Wimbledon, with his mid-year Covid-19 diagnosis a significant factor in that.
De Minaur said the ATP Cup rebound was “very important” as he tried to go beyond the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“I felt as soon as I was able to kind of put that year behind me, even Davis Cup (in December), I was able to really turn a corner,” he said.