Alex de Minaur teases Carlos Alcaraz about 'difficult season' comment despite winning 2 Grand Slams in 2024
Carlos Alcaraz had a tremendous 2024 season where he won two Grand Slam trophies. The Spaniard clinched the French Open and Wimbledon, defeating Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, respectively.
Besides those two events, the Spaniard had a modest season with a few good runs here and there. It paled in comparison with Jannik Sinner, who had by far the better season, as it's arguably one of the best seasons we've seen in recent times.
At the Charlotte Invitations exhibition last year, Carlos Alcaraz reflected on his 2024 season, saying that it was rather difficult. That comment was brought up by Andrea Petkovic in Melbourne during an interview with Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur as part of the pre-Australian Open festivities.
The former German player wanted de Minaur's opinion on Alcaraz describing a season where he won two Grand Slam trophies as 'difficult', and the Australian didn't disappoint, saying:
"I wish I had difficult seasons like Carlos. I think we all do," De Minaur quipped.
The comment got a good chuckle out of the crowd and also Alcaraz, who could see the funny side of it.
As mentioned above, it was a successful season by the most basic metrics, though likely not as successful as Alcaraz had hoped, as he had an underwhelming US Open campaign and also lost out to Alexander Zverev in the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinals.
Alex De Minaur's 2024 season
Alex De Minaur himself had a really interesting 2024 season, and in many ways, it was similar to that of Alcaraz because overall it was a rather successful one, though possibly not as successful as he might have hoped.
Alex De Minaur secured a spot at the ATP Finals for the first time in his career but also struggled with a hip injury sustained at Wimbledon, which not only cut his run at that event short but also impacted the Olympics and the tournaments after that.
The Australian's major run came at the US Open, where he made the quarterfinal before losing to Jack Draper. Overall, it was one of the most promising seasons he's ever had, with 52 wins compared to 47 wins he had the previous year. This was also the first time De Minaur made it to the quarterfinals of three of the four Majors.
He's made a good start so far, winning both of his United Cup matches with ease. With the 2025 Australian Open coming up, Alex de Minaur is expected to carry Australian hopes on his shoulders, and he'll have a decent shot after posting a 24-6 record on hard courts last year.