As Alex de Minaur prepares to lead the nation in the Davis Cup Finals, the passionate competitor has his sights set on a 29th Australian title in the world team event.
Malaga, Spain, 22 November 2022 | Vivienne Christie
Few players display their passion for Davis Cup quite like Alex de Minaur.
After debuting in the world team competition as Australia’s 109th player early in 2018, the then-teenager had his Davis Cup number tattooed on his chest.
In the five years since, De Minaur has proudly demonstrated his passion for Davis Cup in other ways.
A veteran of 11 ties for Australia, De Minaur is a winner of eight of the last nine Davis Cup singles matches he’s contested.
Boasting a 9-4 Davis Cup singles record overall, the Sydney-born Australian last lost a singles match against Croatia’s Marin Cilic, a former Grand Slam champion, in the 2021 Finals.
The record is particularly impressive this year.
Flawless against Zsombor Piros and Marton Fucsovics during Australia’s victory over Hungary in the Qualifiers in Sydney earlier this season, De Minaur later claimed wins over Belgian David Goffin and Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in the round-robin stage.
Those performances not only helped Australia’s progress to this week’s knockout stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain but also underlined De Minaur’s status as an official leader of the Australian team.
“It’s always been a great passion of mine to be able to represent Australia in Davis Cup,” said De Minaur, as the Australian team prepared to meet the Netherlands in tonight’s knock-out quarterfinal.
“I feel very privileged to be in the position that I am. I love these weeks. I want to do everything I can to help my team and help my country. It’s great to be a part of it.”
Australian team captain Lleyton Hewitt is delighted to see how that spirit has developed over many years.
“I rely heavily on Alex. But then again, Rochey (coach Tony Roche) and I have spent a lot of time over the years with Alex since he was an orange boy and really getting him ready for these situations where he’s got to go out there and lead the team and he does that so well,” Hewitt said.
“Not only on the court but also off the court as well, which is really important being in a team environment. We’re extremely proud of Alex and I have no doubt, he’s going to play well for us here.”
De Minaur will take confidence from an impressive end to his individual season…
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