"It's one of those moments you kind of dream of, one to savor for many years" - Alex de Minaur on playing at Rod Laver Arena in front of the tennis legend
Alex de Minaur notched up a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Pablo Andujar on Saturday to progress to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career.
The Australian delighted a packed Rod Laver Arena crowd with a consistent display of aggressive hitting. In attendance was tennis legend Rod Laver himself, willing the home favorite on.
During his post-match press conference, De Minaur described the experience of playing in front of Laver as a dream come true.
"Yeah, I mean, another very special feeling," De Minaur said. "And look, it's one of those moments you kind of dream of, play night match, 7:00 p.m. prime time on Rod Laver Arena on your own merits, and have the legend Rod himself watching you play."
"So it's definitely a great moment to savor for many years to come," he continued. "And of course to go out there and play such a good match and win on this occasion, it's a great feeling."
Shifting his focus to his game, De Minaur said he had put in a lot of hard work during the preseason and was happy to be getting big wins at the start of the year.
The 22-year-old also expressed his satisfaction with his game management, saying he was happy to have been able to close out a straight-sets win despite not always playing his best tennis.
"Yeah, look, for me, I put in all the hard work," he said. "So now, getting the wins under my belt is, you know, it's a great confi booster. I'm happy with where my level is at, so I'm just at the moment taking care of business."
"I'm very happy I was able to do that in the first week of the slam," he continued. "We're not done, but what I'm most proud of myself was maybe I didn't play my best level throughout the three matches, but I was solid and I got the win."
"I know what's coming: Immense firepower" - Alex de Minaur on playing Jannik Sinner next
De Minaur also spoke about his next opponent, Jannik Sinner, saying that he was familiar with the Italian's game, having shared the practice courts over the years.
The Aussie said he was expecting a lot of "firepower" from Sinner's side but was quick to add he was up for the challenge.
"Well, first thing I'm going to do tomorrow morning is, like every other off-day, I'm going to head over to South Yarra to my little coffee shop in the morning for breakfast," the Australian said. "Then I'll hit at 3:00. I hit with Jannik in Sydney. I've hit with him a lot."
"I've played him," he continued. "I know what's coming: Immense firepower. I'm going to have to be ready to, as we have just talked about, not get bullied around the court and really take it to him. That's definitely the game plan. Relax, recover, and get ready to just leave it all out there come two days."
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