A Saturday night party in Acapulco is no easy thing to turn down, but Alex de Minaur had other things on his mind after successfully defending an ATP Tour title for the first time at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
Shortly before the Australian overcame Casper Ruud in the championship match at the ATP 500, his girlfriend and WTA Tour star Katie Boulter enjoyed a landmark moment of her own. The Briton defeated Emma Navarro in straight sets to reach the biggest final of her career at a WTA 500 event in San Diego.
Boulter has frequently spoken of De Minaur as a highly supportive force in her career. It was therefore no surprise that the eight-time ATP Tour champion was prepared to forego his own title celebrations on the Mexican Pacific Coast in order to reach San Diego for Sunday’s 3 p.m. PST final.
Priorities 🥰@alexdeminaur is coming for you, @katiecboulter 💙@AbiertoTelcel | #AMT2024 pic.twitter.com/ajmyjzROpS
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“You know what, I cannot,” said De Minaur in his on-court interview, when asked if he would be enjoying a big night in Acapulco. “I’ve got a 6 a.m. flight to go to Tijuana and go and watch Katie play in the final, so I’m looking forward to that.”
With De Minaur in the stands, Boulter went on to defeat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the championship match. As a result, the 27-year-old on Monday rose to a career-high No. 27 in the WTA Rankings.
“He had a late night and an early start,” said Boulter, when asked about De Minaur’s dash north in her post-match press conference. “He had an incredible week himself. I think I’ll begin to process it in the next couple of days, but what he’s done is insane. To go back-to-back titles at a 500, that’s what I aspire to be like. Let’s see if I can do it in San Diego next year.”
De Minaur and Boulter will now head inland to Indian Wells, where they will both compete at the BNP Paribas Open.
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