Alex de Minaur tunes up for the Australian Open.Credit: Eddie Jim
It’s 12.30pm on Australian Open eve, and Alex de Minaur is on his back stretching in the bowels of Melbourne Park as he prepares for a hit with Jannik Sinner.
De Minaur’s fiancee, British star Katie Boulter, has popped into the player gym to see him, but disappears almost as quickly as she arrived.
Most of “Team Demon” are here: Coach Adolfo Gutierrez, assistant coach Matt Reid, strength and conditioning coach Emilio Poveda Pagan, and his jack-of-all-trades manager Kathryn Oyeniyi.
Alex de Minaur warms up for his hit with Jannik Sinner. Credit: Eddie Jim
Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt and Jaymon Crabb shuffle in soon after.
De Minaur has granted this masthead exclusive access to his Open eve training session, to see and hear what goes on away from the public eye, and how he hones his fitness and reflexes ahead of his first round meeting with formidable Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
At age 25, the Australian is at the peak of his powers.
De Minaur broke new personal ground to reach three grand slam quarter-finals last year, becoming the first Australian – man or woman – to do so in the same season since Hewitt two decades earlier.
No local man has won the Australian Open singles title since Mark Edmondson in 1976; Hewitt was the most-recent finalist in 2005.
“I couldn’t think of anything better than to finish the next couple weeks with the title. That would be a lifetime goal, a dream come true from a little kid,” de Minaur told this masthead.
“I also know it’s extremely difficult.
De Minaur is out to improve on his quarter-final at last year’s Open.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“[But] I think there’s always a chance because I’m a different version of myself, and a player who can now put myself in that position to be one of those guys who can put their hands up, and be ready to take that opportunity.”
De Minaur does not have the gym to himself.
Former top-20 players Reilly Opelka and Alexander Bublik are locked in conversation, while reigning women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen is doing an intense warm-up. She, too, is about to step on court for a practice session.
This final half hour before getting on court is about de Minaur and Poveda Pagan.
Everyone else in the team is chatting among themselves in a separate corner of the room.
De Minaur prepares to hit with Jannik Sinner.Credit: Eddie Jim
Poveda Pagan runs de Minaur through a battery of warm-up exercises, using bands, an adjustable weight bench, and variously sized medicine balls.
He explains, in Spanish, what he wants de Minaur to do each time.
There is throwing, twisting and pulling from various angles and positions, to ensure Australia’s best tennis player is ready to go.
The strength and conditioning guru is one of the longest-serving members of de Minaur’s team. He is arguably even more critical since the hip injury that threatened to derail the world No.8’s breakout season.
De Minaur sustained a tear at the insertion of the adductor longus muscle, on his right side, into the fibrocartilage on the third-last point of his fourth-round Wimbledon win last year over France’s Arthur Fils.
What should have been a career highlight turned into a nightmare.
Behind the scenes with de Minaur.Credit: Eddie Jim
Two days later, de Minaur announced he had withdrawn from his blockbuster quarter-final with Novak Djokovic.
He managed to play doubles at the Paris Olympics, but not singles, and did not appear again after that until the US Open in late August.
Heroically, de Minaur somehow advanced to the last eight in New York for the second time in his career despite his famed court coverage being visibly diminished.
Another extended absence from the tour followed.
He was still playing in pain, and his movement remained limited, once he returned for his successful last-ditch attempt to qualify for the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin, and to play in the Davis Cup.
“Playing in Turin was one of the most frustrating times that I’ve had,” de Minaur said.
“I’ve achieved something so amazing, but at the same time, I can’t compete against the best players in the world if I’m not 100 per cent fit. It was quite a tough way to finish the year, even with Davis Cup, by not being able to help my country, which I take so much pride in.
De Minaur is famed for his physical fitness.Credit: Eddie Jim
“Finishing the year with six straight losses was something I’ve never done in my career. Mentally, it was pretty tough. I was losing to top-10 players, but it still was unsettling.”
De Minaur’s physical breakthrough came in the off-season when there was less urgency to get back playing, even with the Australian Open on the horizon.
Then, at the “Ultimate Tennis Showdown” event in London in early December, which de Minaur won, he realised the old “Demon” was back.
The pain was almost non-existent and he was moving freely again.
Things were even better by the time de Minaur returned to Australia for the United Cup, the competition that was the fire starter for his 2024 season.
“It was probably one of the toughest moments in my career,” he said.
“I was obviously looking forward to playing Novak in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. These are the types of matches that I’ve worked so hard to put myself in that position and play, and that got taken away from me.
“I thought I set myself up really nicely for potentially going deeper and improving my ranking even more, and having even that top five in sight – but again, I couldn’t be prouder with how I dealt with all of that.”
In essence, de Minaur did as he has done throughout his entire career. He persevered.
A player once almost dismissed, albeit still admired, as “Lleyton-lite” is now taken extremely seriously, from the locker room to the media who report on his every on- and off-court move.
There is a reason world No.1 and defending Australian Open champion Sinner chose to hit with de Minaur on the final Saturday before the tournament starts.
That said, there was some confusion as the clock ticked well beyond de Minaur’s 1pm session on Margaret Court Arena without any sight of Sinner or his team.
Reid hit a few balls with de Minaur before being sent to find Sinner and co.
Then Hewitt took over before they headed to the sidelines to wait. At 1.10pm, Sinner strode onto court. “Sorry, Alex.”
Sinner’s Italian coach, Simone Vagnozzi, also offered his apologies to de Minaur as he walked past.
Sinner and de Minaur were soon exchanging forehands and backhands, then they played some practice sets, with an expressive Gutierrez regularly getting in his ear.
It was another chance for the Australian to find a potential weakness to exploit in Sinner, who remains unbeaten against de Minaur.
De Minaur shakes hands with Sinner.Credit: Eddie Jim
They are potential quarter-final combatants in the second week at Melbourne Park, where de Minaur would have to beat his rival for the first time to progress, and this is an intense, high-standard session.
There is frustration at misses, applause and encouragement from the players’ support teams when their man wins a point, and some breathtaking winners.
“I definitely feel closer,” De Minaur said of hopes of matching Sinner when they next meet. “Our head-to-head is a little bit more lopsided than most, but he barely lost any matches last year [73-6 record].
“Novak and Carlos really are the two people who have found ways to still beat him, and still struggle big time. He’s just such a consistent player. I felt like the match we played at Rotterdam was a very high-quality match, with opportunities.
De Minaur trains for the Open.Credit: Eddie Jim
“The more time I spend on court with him, the more matches I play against him, it means that I’m doing the right things and playing the right types of matches.”
De Minaur is a big deal at this time of year, and he has earned that status, but it means he has endured a hectic past week.
He played a charity match against triple grand slam champion Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday night, at the end of a day he spent hours fulfilling commitments for sunscreen brand La Roche-Posay, for which he has been an ambassador for 13 months.
De Minaur made sure to lather the stuff on before hitting with Sinner, then chucking on a Catapult data-tracking vest.
His conditioning impressed Crabb, who offered a complimentary “Geez” as de Minaur’s rippling physique went briefly on display.
De Minaur also had Wilson and Weet-Bix appearances on Tuesday, then Asics on Thursday. He took part in the Open’s annual Kids Tennis Day on Saturday morning, too.
“It’s no secret that especially this being my home slam, there’s always going to be a few more eyeballs and commitments that you have to do as a tennis player,” de Minaur said.
“It’s always about finding that healthy balance of doing what you need to do, but also making sure you’re getting the work you need to do on [and] off the court, and also making sure you come for the first round and you’re ready to go.”
Being ready has never been a problem for a player regarded as one of the most professional on tour.
De Minaur prides himself on maximising his talents, and finding new ways to overtake, or reduce the gap to, the best players in the world.
He finds motivation from everywhere – including his critics.
“Most of the opinions on me were always kind of that I’m overachieving, I don’t have the weapons, or I don’t have the skill-set,” de Minaur said.
“Some people can take it as a negative, but I always have taken it as fuel to the fire, so all of a sudden, at least this is my thoughts, there has been a little bit of a different narrative [as I have gradually improved].
“I feed off all the people who tell me that I can’t achieve something because it sure as hell feels quite good when I prove them wrong.”
Watch all the Australian Open action live on Nine, 9Now and Stan from Sunday, January 12.
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