Alex de Minaur was down 30-40, locked at 2-2 in the second set having already lost the first. He really, really needed a cheap point. To keep Australia in with a chance of making the United Cup final. To keep himself in with a chance at becoming a top-10 player by Monday.
He pumped his next serve down to Alexander Zverev and the German, stretching for his return, caught the ball on the frame of his racquet. The graphite popped it high into the air, leaving Zverev with nothing to do but wait for it to come back down and then watch as members of the crowd fell over each other to catch it.
Alex de Minaur celebrates his victory over Alexander Zverev at the United Cup.Credit: AP
The resulting deuce was the first of six in this game, an 11-minute mini-marathon inside the full distance that was this three-set feather in de Minaur’s cap. It is a nice cap – a clean white ASICS visa that gives off slightly preppy vibes and pairs well with the squeak of his shoes. There was a lot of chanting and cheering inside Ken Roswell Arena on Saturday night – Rebel Wilson was chief among them from her seat behind the Team Australia box – but nothing compared to the chorus of squeaks emanating from de Minaur’s bright red shoes.
The 24-year-old keeps several spare pairs of shoelaces on hand during matches, so often does the friction from all the sliding and scraping on hard courts bust the ones on his feet. Those feet are the busiest on tour. De Minaur is literally a speed Demon. But he also a bouncer and a pacer, and a walker with purpose.
Against Zverev in their United Cup semi-final singles battle, those feet attacked the net and captured volleys in the air. After de Minaur held that critical service game to lead 3-2 – they forced the world No.7 off his A-game, snared a break to lead 5-3 and then served out the set. Then he broke Zverev in the opening game of the third and took that one, too. The 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory offset Ajla Tomljanovic’s earlier three-set loss to Angelique Kerber and sent the semi-final tie to the doubles.
“I love being back home, thank you guys,” said de Minaur, a Spain-based Sydneysider. “I’ve said it before, but every time I step out on court here it feels special. This is my favourite court in the whole world. I get goosebumps. I love being here and I’m very grateful for all the support.
“I hung in there. Sascha [Zverev] is a hell of a competitor, a hell of a player. I managed to get out of jail in the second set, a couple of breakpoints, then the whole momentum changed. The crowd got behind me and I just tried to ride the wave.”
The difference between Zverev’s A-Game and his B-Game is distinguishable, but the difference between his body language between points is not. In both cases, the 26-year-old is a saunterer. Winning or losing, celebrating or mouthing off to the chair umpire, he meanders. The unharried sight of him sat in such stark contrast to the one-man green-and-gold marching band up the other end, it made it seem as if de Minaur simply wanted this more.
And maybe he did. Because now, the quiet Australian with the terrible record against top-10 opponents has beaten three top-10 opponents within a week, including a maiden win over world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Come Monday, he will be one of them. When the rankings are updated this week, de Minaur will have achieved his stated ambition to crack the top 10.
“It’s what I worked so hard for,” he said. “Another milestone. But it doesn’t finish. The job’s not done. We keep on improving, we keep getting better. I’m going to enjoy this Aussie summer, that’s for sure.”
De Minaur’s win squared the tie after Kerber had outlasted Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) in the women’s rubber, coming from a set down and saving two match points to mark the former world No.1’s first win since returning from an 18-month maternity layoff.
Ajla Tomljanovic’s match against Angelique Kerber went down to the wire.Credit: Getty Images
“Ajla played amazingly and we were both on a high level,” Kerber said. “It’s my first singles win since coming back and it’s a great feeling. Coming out and having such a tough battle and it means a lot to have a match like this before going to the Australian Open.”
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