Alex de Minaur is looking forward to another opportunity at the Australian Open.Credit:AP
De Minaur starts his Australian Open campaign against Taiwanese qualifier Hsu Yu-hsiou,who is making his grand slam debut, before a tricky path ahead,including a potential fourth-round clash with nine-time champion Novak Djokovic.
He is excited rather than daunted at the extra attention playing in a home grand slam naturally brings.
“I’ve been watching[Hsu] in the qualifiers and seen his results,so we’ll be doing a lot of scouting with the team to look at his matches and see how we prepare for that match tactically,” de Minaur said.
“I don’t like to look at the draws much,but ultimately the media are always going to look very far ahead ... the way I see it;I’ve got to focus on my first-round opponent,then we’ll go from there.
“It would be[special],for sure,[to play Djokovic]. These are the types of matches I want to be playing,and that’s where you want to be,so I’ll do my best to put myself in that position,and hopefully give myself a good chance to play against the best in the world.”
Alex de Minaur on the move against Andy Murray at the Kooyong Classic on Thursday.Credit:AP
De Minaur typically dodges off-court drama,but Kyrgios’ reluctance to play Davis Cup for Australia – he last represented his country more than three years ago – dragged him into that ongoing topic.