Alex De Minaur produced a major upset this week when he beat former top 10 Milos Raonic in straight sets in the second round at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane.
The Australian teenage player grabbed the headlines for the first time in 2017 when he upset Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round in Brisbane last year. He then made his first appearance of the Australian Open in January 2017 and beat Austrian player Gerald Melzer in five sets after saving one match point.
De Minaur started his 2018 season with a 7-6 6-4 win over Olympic double sbronze medallist Steve Johnson in the opening round before beating Raonic, who won the Brisbane title in 2016. By reaching the quarter final De Minaur improved on his Round of 32 achieved during the 2017 edition of the Brisbane tournament.
“I could not ask for more. I beat a high-quality opponent and I am stoked. Every match you play you have to have some belief that you gonna win that match. My phone started to blow up after my match against Raonic”, said De Minaur.
The Aussie sensation went on to beat US qualifier Michael Mmoh 6-4 6-0 and reached the semifinal in Brisbane. De Minaur will play against Ryan Harrison in the semifinal of the Australian tournament.
De Minaur was born in Sydney to a Spanish mother Esther, who is a homemaker and an Uruguayan father Anibal, who owns car washes. He lived in Spain until the age of five before moving to Australia. He speaks English, Spanish and French. His idols growing up were Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt. He trains in Alicante and is supported by Tennis Australia. He attended Primary School in Spain and finished school while he was travelling on tour. His favourite football team is Real Madrid because his mother is a longtime fan.
He was ranked world number 2 in the Junior rankings, won the 2016 Australian Open Boys’ doubles teaming up with Blake Ellis and reached the semifinal in the Australian Open junior singles tournament. He played Futures and won a doubles tournament in a Spanish tournament in Madrid with Carlos Boluda Purkiss. He produced a major impact in July 2016 when he finished runner-up to Denis Shapovalov in the Wimbledon Junior final after three sets.
De Minaur has received advice from Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt and even lived in his house. Hewitt was the first to congratulate with Alex after his impressive win over Raonic.
“It was great to just have that inside advice all the time and get his thoughts on everything. I stayed with him in Sydney and also at his place in Melbourne”, said De Minaur.
At the age of 18 Alex is one of the most promising talented players on the ATP Tour and the win over Raonic is just the beginning for the Australian Next Gen player.
“I have improved a lot of aspects of my game. I am in better shape, both physically and mentally. Obviously that helps me a lot on the court. It gives me a lot of confidence to know that I can play against the likes of Raonic and be competitive”.
De Minaur was been confident that he could beat Raonic.
“At the end of the day you have to be convinced you can win once you step on the court. If I don’t believe I can win, then I should stay at home. What’s the point in playing if I don’t think I can win ? Of course I had my doubts. Only a small bit of me believed I could actually beat Raonic, honestly but that was all I needed. I tried to enjoy myself on the court and give the fans that came to support me a good time. That’s what I do, and it’s working so far”, said De Minaur.
Australian fans hope to see De Minaur make a major impact on Grand Slam stage when the Australian Open will start in less than two weeks in Melbourne.
