“There’s no other way than just getting better, right? That’s what it is. You ultimately have to bridge that gap … I’ve played some very close matches over the years with both of them, and you feel like you’re getting closer and closer, and that’s what it is – you’ve got to work on your game, find new weapons.”
For de Minaur, it means getting inventive. Having never won a match against Alcaraz or Sinner from a combined 18 attempts, something has to change.
Alex de Minaur talks to the media on Sunday.Credit: Oscar Colman
“For me, it’s finding different ways to hurt these players ™ trying to be ready to take more risks and be a little bit more of a disruptor,” he said.
“So it’s kind of a couple more things here and there that we’ve tried to work towards in my team throughout this off-season to kind of try to take that next step because that’s obviously the next goal.”
Part of that is packing on more muscle, and de Minaur has brought in a new fitness trainer to help make it happen.
“Ultimately, trying to get bigger and stronger and just keep on improving,” he said.
Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata share a moment at the net following a practice session in Sydney.Credit: Oscar Colman
Despite being a little tired and jet-lagged, de Minaur was in good spirits on Sunday.
But six weeks earlier, at the ATP Finals in November, he was at his most vulnerable following a loss to Italian Lorenzo Musetti, which he described as “one of the toughest days of my career”.
Two days later, the Australian bounced back with a win against Taylor Fritz, but conceded he “hated the sport” at that moment. Speaking of that time on Sunday, he said he was glad he could be honest with himself.
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“A lot of the time I feel like us players put on a brave face, and that’s what we try to do most of the time, and sometimes certain matches they just hit differently,” he said.
“It was a way of me to just express my feelings, kind of get it out there, give myself a chance to regroup and, obviously, I was very pumped with the way I bounced back for my next match.
“I learnt about myself in those finals … I learnt from my mistakes, how I felt after the match, I made sure for the next match I wasn’t going to feel the same way and, ultimately, it’s about kind of that shift in mindset.”
