Alex de Minaur has shown his class by shooting down a reporter following his loss in the final of the Rotterdam Open on Monday morning.
The Aussie was powerless to stop a red-hot Jannik Sinner and fell short 7-5 6-4 after a high-quality battle.
Sinner continues to be the talk of the tennis world after blasting his way to win his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open.
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The Italian carried that form to the Netherlands, dropping just one set on his way to claim the Rotterdam title.
After reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, de Minaur has also carried some impressive form into the next phase of the ATP Tour, beating Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov on his way to the final in Rotterdam.
De Minaur has risen to No. 9 on the ATP Tour rankings, a new career high.
There was plenty of things to talk about surrounding the 25-year-old after the Rotterdam final, but one journalist was only interested in de Minaur’s thoughts about Sinner.
Sinner and de Minaur showed mutual class in their public comments following the match with Sinner joking he doesn’t like playing de Minaur because they are friends and previously played doubles together. Sinner has a 7-0 head to head record with de Minaur.
When asked another question about Sinner in his post-match press conference, de Minaur had finally had enough about the questions surrounding the new world No. 3.
De Minaur was asked if he was aware Sinner’s victory saw him become the first maiden grand slam winner since Lleyton Hewitt won the US Open in 2001 to win the tournament that immediately followed his first major victory.
Powerhouse de Mianur downs Dimitrov | 01:02
De Minaur’s bored face said it all.
“Look, you always ask me about Jannik and I’ve got nothing but good words to say about Jannik and I always say the same thing,” de Minaur said.
“I think he’s an incredible kid. He’s humble. He’s got all the right values. He’s playing unbelievable tennis. But, please, I don’t want to answer any more questions about Jannik.”
When asked a follow up question, de Minaur responded to the same reporter: “That’s completely fine and he’s flying the flag very proudly and he’s an unbelievable human being”.
De Minaur was happy to make light of Sinner’s win and posted a photo of Sinner and himself standing together during the Rotterdam trophy presentations with a caption that included a laugh-out-loud emoji: “I don’t like you anymore”.
He also commented on a post on Sinner’s Instagram page by writing: “I don’t like you”.
The two players embraced at the net as the Rotterdam crowd gave them a thunderous ovation.
“It’s very tough to play against you. It’s better when we are on the same side playing doubles,” quipped Sinner.
De Minaur’s run to the final included a pulsating semi-final against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, later describing it as his “best match on tour.”
“I asked him jokingly if he’s going to lose a match this year. He’s playing an incredible level and just too good. I’ll get you back next time!” said De Minaur.
De Minaur said he had taken “another big step in the right direction” and pledged to “fight for bigger and better things.”
His level against Sinner impressed plenty with American tennis commentator Ricky Dimon posting on Twitter: “Call me crazy, but I think Demon can win a major in the post-Big 3 era, if he doesn’t have to play Sinner”.
— with AFP
