Alex de Minaur: 'It is special to win Sydney just like Lleyton did it'
The Sydney native Alex de Minaur was only 18 and ranked outside the top-200 when he stepped on the court in Brisbane last year, reaching the semi-final for his first significant result on the Tour. Just a week later, Alex was the finalist in his hometown of Sydney, missing a chance to become the champion after a tight loss to Daniil Medvedev in the title match. The rest of the season was nothing but spectacular for one of the youngest players in the top-100, reaching the final in Washington and the NextGen Finals to finish the year just outside the top-30.
2019 saw the same schedule in the calendar of this extraordinary fast and determined player who has managed to win his first ATP title in front of the home fans in Sydney. Alex defeated Gilles Simon and Andreas Seppi in double action on Saturday to become the first teenager with an ATP title since Andrey Rublev in Umag 2017 and also the youngest Sydney winner since his mentor and the most prominent supporter Lleyton Hewitt, who won this event four times. With no time to celebrate, Alex, Lleyton and the rest of the team flew to Melbourne to arrive there in the early hours on Sunday, with de Minaur playing his first match at the Australian Open against Pedro Sousa already on Monday.
The youngster wasn't particularly happy about the schedule at the first Grand Slam of the season but he thinks he should be ready for his first test at Melbourne Park, facing a rival who is way below his quality and who never won an ATP match on a hard court.
"Being the youngest Sydney champion since Hewitt, that's definitely special," de Minaur said. "Every time I walk down to Ken Rosewall Arena and walking down the tunnel and you see his name on the board four times. I'm just happy that I was able to get the win and be the next Aussie to get the win and especially at home. I think if you're being compared to Lleyton, then you're obviously doing something right. Growing up, he's one of the guys I looked up to and I watched a lot of matches. And to be able to, in a way, to follow his footsteps and win in Sydney is definitely special.
Once the time comes, I'll be ready to play in Melbourne. I don't want to think about it too much. I feel like the body is good. I'm mentally fresh. I just can't wait to get back out on court, and especially at the Australian Open. There is no bigger stage than that. I'm really looking forward to just going out there and competing, firing up and hopefully play some good tennis. I feel like I have dealt with the sort of nerves and pressure and expectation these coming weeks quite well, and I think it's just something to get used to it. At the end of the day, you're just the same guy.
You've got to keep doing the same things, and the most important thing is just keep listening to the team of guys around you because they have your best interest at heart. Just keep wanting to improve day in, day out, and I'm a strong believer that if I keep doing those things, then I'll get better as a person and as a player. With that, the results will come."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QGxO3D
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