Alex De Minaur has admitted that he is living the dream as he prepares for his Australian Open campaign.
De Minaur has started his season in strong fashion as he has already beaten Alexander Zverev and world number one Novak Djokovic in preparation for the Australian Open.
As a result De Minaur became the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt to become a top ten player.
Now the 24 year-old looks to make a major impact at his home Grand Slam as he continues to live his dream, “I’m living my dream,” De Minaur was quoted by the ATP website as telling journalists during his pre-tournament press conference.
“I can wake up in the morning and know that I’ve achieved a massive milestone, which was very tough to get to. I didn’t know if I was going to achieve it.
“Now I can look at myself and say that I’ve done it, that I’m a completely different player to what I was last year. It’s exciting because I’ve got bigger and better things to come hopefully.”
De Minaur will hope to start his aim of achieving bigger things in Melbourne where he is the tenth seed and full of confidence.
However the Australian hinted that he always seems to play well at this time of year, “I think my whole career has been a gradual improvement,” De Minaur explained.
“I’ve always tried to be a better player every year I come into the Australian Open. I think this has been another chance and another opportunity for me to get better.
“I’m playing with a lot of confidence at the moment, a lot of belief, a very positive mindset. Ultimately, I’m trying to be more aggressive and bring a lot more variety to my game.
“I think a lot of people have watched me run side to side endlessly. I do have other layers to my game, which I’ve been able to kind of show at the start of the year. That’s the plan moving forward.”
De Minaur will look to show his variety and aggression in his opening round when he takes on former Grand Slam finalist Milos Raonic.
Ahead of the opening round contest, De Minaur spoke about the challenge that awaits him, “Ultimately against these types of opponents, if you can get the serve back, you’re putting yourself in a decent position,” De Minaur analysed.
“More importantly, you got to look after your own serve. That means staying focused at all times. You can’t give a cheap game at any stage because that could almost mean the set.”
De Minaur currently leads their head-to-head record 1-0 although their only meeting came in Brisbane six years ago.
De Minaur’s Projected Draw:
R1: Milos Raonic
R2: Matteo Arnaldi
R3: Nicolas Jarry (18)
R4: Andrey Rublev (5)
QF: Jannik Sinner (4)
SF: Novak Djokovic (1)
Final: Carlos Alcaraz (2)
