Pospisil on De Minaur: He’s a Freak of Nature
Alex De Minaur is breaking through at the Grand Slam level for the first time and after her defeated Vasek Pospisil in three sets on Monday, Canada’s Pospsisil had nothing but praise for the “Demon” and his jaw-dropping speed.
“I think he’s one of the quickest guys on tour,” Pospisil said. “I think it’s Gael Monfils, probably and I think honestly I think Alex might be the next fastest guy. It would be interesting to see some stats on that.”Pospisil, who has lost all three matches he has played against the 21-year-old Aussie, says that it isn’t just the zero to 60 that impresses him about De Minaur, it’s also the fact that he never gets tired.“He’s very quick and what’s most impressive is he never breathes,” Pospisil said. “He runs side-to-side and he’s never out of breath, I mean it’s almost he defies the laws of biology I guess. But he’s definitely a freak of nature, he’s extremely fit, never gets tired, runs side-to-side, incredibly fast.”“I think one of the biggest things is I grew into my body,” he said. “I mean, as a young kid, I was probably 11 or 12 and already had the same size foot I have right now. So it felt like a little bit of a little kid with clown shoes on. I didn't have the best footwork, the best movement.Like a man possessed. 😈The Demon steamrolls his way into his first Grand Slam QF. pic.twitter.com/ZX8OqOwcxm
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“So it was just a lot of work, especially in technique of movement from a young age. Then me kind of just growing into my body, those two things together. That's where I am right now, so I'm pretty happy with that.”With all that said, De Minaur still admits that he’d rather have the type of game that could simply take the racquet out of his opponents hands.“Well, if I could definitely blast people off the court, then trust me, I would rather do that. This running thing gets tiring, that's for sure.”The World No.28, who will face No.2-seeded Dominic Thiem in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open, says he’s just working with what he’s got. A good lesson for aspiring tennis champions, far and wide.“Look, I've got to deal with what God gave me,” he said. “He didn't give me the best physique, I'm not as strong or as tall as other people so I have to find ways to win. That's the way I win. Of course I take pride and I want that to be known, I want that to be my brand of tennis. And I want people in the locker room to know that if they're going to beat me, they're going to have to go through me.” ]]>
