Loyalty to his friends and family is one of Alex de Minaur’s many strengths and the Australian No.1 was on the offensive when it came to defending his Davis Cup teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis on Thursday.
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After dropping the opening two games of his clash with American qualifier Tristan Boyer on route to a 6-2 6-4 6-3 win at Melbourne Park, the world No.8 was full of praise for Kokkinakis after his preparation came into question leading into the major.
The South Australian, who served for his second round match against English star Jack Draper on Wednesday night before a problematic pectoral muscle gave way deep in the fifth set, was queried for his decision to play in an exhibition event in Russia in December.
The 28-year-old has already returned serve towards doubles legend Todd Woodbridge for the critique and de Minaur, who contested an exhibition with Kokkinakis in London prior to the Russian excursion, has no qualms with his teammate’s plans.
De Minaur has reason to be happy, having pocketed more than $1.2 million for winning the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in mid-December which featured Kokkinakis, among other top-tier tour players, in the three-day exhibition.
“Ultimately everyone decides their own schedule. Whether you’re playing an exo (exhibition match) or not, you can decide to put training around it,” de Minaur said.
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“I don’t know (whether) playing tournaments or playing an ‘exo’, a three-day event, is going to cause any sort of harm one way or the other.
“Thanasi, he’s a hell of a player. (He has) so much talent. He had a tough, tough loss last night where he played some incredible tennis for four hours. He’s shown that he can do this in Grand Slams quite often. He’s so dangerous whenever he steps out on the court.
“More than anything, we all just want him to be out there healthy, competing to his highest possible level.”
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De Minaur, who is seeking to reach the last eight for the first time in Melbourne after making quarterfinals at the past three grand slams, produced another solid performance on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
He will now play Argentinian Francesco Cerundolo, a talented Argentinian who is the 31st seed in Melbourne, in the third round on Saturday.
“He’s a very dangerous player. Very tricky. He’s got a lot firepower from the baseline with that forehand. He’s had some big scalps on tour. He’s not afraid to play some big matches,” de Minaur said.
“It’s going to be a battle. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a really tough one. I’ve got to be up for it from the very first point, bring that intensity, play some aggressive style of tennis, bring out a better version of myself, which I think I’m doing every day.”
The Australian has increased his service speed consistently since debuting at Melbourne Park with a win back in 2017, with the improvement notable over the past two years in particular.
This has enabled him to hold his position in the court and dictate terms more regularly.
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“Too often in the past I didn’t have enough power where I was really playing that next shot on my terms,” de Minaur said.
“Way too often I was going for 180 km/h body serve to try and get something short, but I wasn’t really hitting 210s down the T or aces here and there to give me free points.
“Ultimately that was the biggest improvement of just adding 10, 15 km/h on serve, and also trying to not jeopardize the accuracy, still hitting those spots.
“If I can do that, I’m going to hit those aces, have a high percentage of points won on first serve. It’s definitely going to make my life easier trying to hold serve.”
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