Alex de Minaur secured his 11th ATP Tour title on Sunday after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Rotterdam Open final.
De Minaur, twice a finalist in the Dutch city, beat Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2; ending the Canadian’s eight-match winning streak.
Katie Boulter offered her reaction shortly after the Australian clinched victory, and he will now take a well-earned rest before travelling to the USA for Indian Wells.
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The ‘Demon’ has long been an outsider at Grand Slam events, regularly defeated by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
However, the Australian has been told he does something better than the world’s top two players.
Sam Querrey says Alex de Minaur ‘takes time away’ better than any other player on the ATP Tour
Speaking on the Nothing Major Show, the former world number 11 discussed how Alex de Minaur makes up for his lack of power [relative to other players].
“Demon is so aggressive with his court positioning,” said the American.
“He doesn’t have the biggest backhand, the biggest forehand or the biggest serve, but his court positioning, up on the baseline, is maybe the most aggressive in all of tennis.
“He takes time away better than anyone.”
Querrey is not wrong: the Demon is one of the most aggressive players on the Tour, utilising his exceptional speed and court positioning to take time away from his opponents, forcing errors and short balls.
However, as Querrey also notes, de Minaur does not have a particularly intimidating game. The Australian lacks the ruthless shotmaking ability of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, meaning he is often unable to hit ‘through’ the best players on Tour.
De Minaur’s speed and agility make up for some of his reduced power. However, he must become a more powerful shot-maker if he is to seriously challenge the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner at Grand Slams.
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Sam Querrey speaks about his only match against Alex de Minaur
In 2017, 17-year-old Alex de Minaur faced off against Sam Querrey in the Australian Open second round.
De Minaur had won his first Grand Slam match in the previous round, defeating Gerald Melzer in five sets.
The Australian was unable to pull off another shock in the second round, losing to Querrey 6-7, 0-6, 1-6.
After the match, de Minaur expressed his disappointment.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because I really felt like I was in the first set,” De Minaur said, as per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I actually had a set point there. I just missed a sort of cheap second-serve return. But, you know, a lot of positive to take out from that match, this week, and how I’ve been playing tennis lately.
“I’m disappointed now, but I’m happy with the Australian summer I’ve had lately.”
Nine years later, Querrey has revealed what he thought of de Minaur when he first played the young Australian.
“I might have played him when he was 16!” Querrey said. “I beat him 7-6, 6-0, 6-1. I would never have known [how good he would become].
“I was like, this is just some other Aussie wildcard that is getting wildcarded and will be average for 10 years. But it’s the complete opposite of that!
“Look at him, he is consistent, and I feel like he will be for the next five years, ranked between five and 12 in the world.”
