De Minaur: Tired of Being a Punching Bag

Alex de Minaur. Indefatigable. The two words are practically synonyms. The No.1 Aussie’s name, when mentioned in tennis circles, has always associated with maximum effort, tireless pursuit of better tennis and relentless intensity that can make his opponents cow in trepidation.

One thing the Aussie’s name is not synonymous with, however, is power.

De Minaur has often been labeled as a guy that can be pushed around on the court due to his physical limitations (6′ 150-lbs, if you’re scoring at home). And, in the past that has been true. De Minaur has hit the wall against the ATP’s power brokers, and run out of gas late in majors, where he is 0-5 in Slam quarterfinals.

But things are changing, says De Minaur.

After he defused bomb-serving Alexander Bublik in his round of 16 match, the Aussie talked about his ability to better cope with power.

“I’m just showing the people that I have improved, right?” he said. “I’ve got more to give.

“I got tired of the narrative that these big hitters can take the racquet out of my hands. Yeah, over the years I have kept on improving. I have kept on getting more and more out of myself.”

De Minaur, who will face Carlos Alcaraz for the sixth time on Day 10 (0-5 lifetime) in quarterfinal action, says that he’s been working hard to ensure that he doesn’t get bullied around the court by top players.

“One of the things I have been constantly wanting to get to is exactly that, when I’m playing big hitters, not be a punching bag for them ultimately and really show them that I can go toe-to-toe with them and actually dictate and get them moving,” he said. “That’s the most effective way to play these big guys.

“Ultimately, I’m very happy that I’m able to execute that. The last couple of matches [have been] some of the best ball striking I have had here at the AO. So very, very pleased with that.”