Alex de Minaur had not even finished winning his third-round match when the contrasts with Nick Kyrgios were drawn. By the time a photo of his adorable golden retriever, Enzo, was being beamed around Rod Laver Arena during his post-match interview, the dichotomy had written itself.
Here was Australia’s quiet achiever, a man of pure intent and earnest endeavour. Kyrgios, that brash entertainer who craves the headlines, had cast a high-profile shadow out of which other locals could only hope to step.
Cue the emergence of de Minaur, the last Australian man standing at Melbourne Park – a man for his country rather than for himself. He is the quintessential Davis Cup player, Australia’s 109th representative; we know this because he has the number tattooed on his chest.
He is the quiet to Kyrgios’s loud. The humility to his ego. The cute, well-looked-after puppy to his callously smashed racket. But to define de Minaur using such one-dimensional tropes does him – and Kyrgios, who is not the devil incarnate – a disservice as a tennis player.
De Minaur’s game has been sharp and implausibly quick in its own right since his breakout as a teenager about five years ago. And though he has not always produced his best at grand slams – his best run was the quarter-finals at the 2020 US Open – he may yet do so at this one.
Saturday’s straight-sets defeat of the Spaniard Pablo Andújar was a performance befitting a 22-year-old who, only three weeks ago, also beat the world No 7, Matteo Berrettini, at the ATP Cup.
In August last year he was ranked 17th. Since then he has picked and chosen events and duly dropped down to 42, and was handed the 32nd and last seed in Melbourne by virtue of Casper Ruud’s pre-tournament exit through injury.
But now he is in the fourth round and, based on his current form, he could well progress deeper into the second week, with the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, potentially waiting in the quarter-finals and the second seed, Daniil Medvedev, in the semis.
One might not have had cause to ponder this two days ago, when de Minaur impressed when he won his second-round match – his first win on centre court from two attempts – in a couple of short hours before the evening’s headline act of Kyrgios v Medvedev. But there was ample time to do so throughout this 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory a composed, assured performance, played out during the primetime evening session in front of Rod Laver himself.
De Minaur barely blinked each time he broke Andújar, attacking his serve and backing him into a corner until there was simply no escape. He squeezed into positions one should not squeeze into and found gaps that should not be found against a serve-volleyer who does not offer many openings.
Even Andújar – a hitting partner of de Minaur in Spain, where the Australian spends half of his time – applauded an elegant lob which came from beyond the baseline, sailed over his head and kissed the outside his own baseline.
“I’m happy with where my level is at, so I’m just taking care of business,” de Minaur said. “I’m very happy I was able to do that in the first week of the slam.
“We’re not done, but what I’m most proud of myself was maybe I didn’t play my best level throughout the three matches, but I was solid and I got the win and I didn’t spend eight hours on court.
“I went out there, did what I needed to do, great attitude, positive vibes, and got the job done. So that’s also a confidence-booster for sure.”
In the last 16 he will play the 20-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, the 11th seed with a potent backhand and fearless approach. “I hit with Jannik in Sydney,” he said. “I’ve hit with him a lot. I’ve played him. I know what’s coming: immense firepower. I’m going to have to be ready to not get bullied around the court and really take it to him.”
When he does, he will not do so as the antidote to Kyrgios, but merely a different type of player with a different personality who can be enjoyed on his own merits.
