Australia’s Alex de Minaur begins his fifth campaign at The Championships as the No.15 seed and looking to better last year’s fourth-round run.
London, Great Britain, 4 July 2023 | Paul Macpherson
Like any good Australian, Alex de Minaur loves playing on grass.
Hitting flatter and moving better than most of his peers, the world No.17 was almost custom-built for modern-day grass-court tennis.
In 2022, only a fifth-set tiebreak loss to Cristian Garin denied him a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and last week he reached the final at Queen’s, falling to Carlos Alcaraz.
“I’m in a great position right now,” the 2021 Eastbourne champion told ATPTour.com.
“I played some great tennis last week. I was able to rest this week and get ready for hopefully a good run here in Wimbledon. I like where my game is at, I like how the body is feeling and how I am mentally. So hopefully I’ve put myself in a position to perform.”
De Minaur, who is just two places below his career-high ranking of world No.15, took out sixth-ranked Holger Rune at Queen’s and was competitive in the final against Alcaraz, who returned to world No.1 by claiming the final 6-4 6-4.
“It was a very solid week for sure,” De Minaur said. “I was very happy with my mindset all week. I played some positive tennis from start to finish and I showed the type of tennis that I can play. I can be very dangerous on this surface. I fell just short, but put myself in a good position for the rest of the year.”
We all need a hype man like @alexdeminaur 🗣️
The world No.17 chats about the strength of Aussie tennis as he prepares for his fifth #Wimbledon campaign 🇦🇺#GoAussies https://t.co/KxCxnfGsoB
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 3, 2023
The seven-time ATP Tour titlist has his sights set on reaching the quarterfinals for the first time, determined to atone for last year when he let slip a two-sets lead and two match points against Garin in the fourth round.
“It was a heartbreaker. It took a while to get over,” said De Minaur, who spent much of his early childhood in Spain. “But at the same time, I kind of showed myself that I can be in that position. I was very close to making the quarters of Wimbledon, which I hadn’t before. It’s all part of the learning experience and process. The next time I’m in that position, I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
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