De Minaur: 'I'm living my dream'

Alex de Minaur arrives at the Australian Open as a Top 10 player after enjoying a standout United Cup that featured a first win against Novak Djokovic. The Australian will lead home hopes in the men’s singles in Melbourne and is pleased with where his level is at ahead of his first-round match against Milos Raonic.

“I think my whole career has been a gradual improvement,” De Minaur said during his pre-tournament press conference on Friday. “I’ve always tried to be a better player every year I come into the Australian Open. I think this has been another chance and another opportunity for me to get better.

"I'm playing with a lot of confidence at the moment, a lot of belief, a very positive mindset. Ultimately, I'm trying to be more aggressive and bring a lot more variety to my game. I think a lot of people have watched me run side to side endlessly. I do have other layers to my game, which I've been able to kind of show at the start of the year. That's the plan moving forward.”

De Minaur defeated Top 10 opponents Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev to help Australia reach the semi-finals at the United Cup earlier this month. Those victories propelled him into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time.

A smile beamed across his face when he was asked about that achievement on Friday afternoon in Melbourne.

“I'm living my dream,” De Minaur said. “I can wake up in the morning and know that I've achieved a massive milestone, which was very tough to get to. I didn't know if I was going to achieve it. Now I can look at myself and say that I've done it, that I'm a completely different player to what I was last year. It's exciting because I've got bigger and better things to come hopefully.”

The 24-year-old is making his seventh appearance at the Australian Open. Having advanced to the fourth round in 2022 and 2023, the seven-time tour-level titlist is excited to be back at his home major.

“Ever since the first time I stepped out here on court, it's always been a privilege because I get to play in front of my home crowd. For me, there's no better feeling,” De Minaur said. “I'm lucky enough that I know as soon as I step out there on court, everyone in the crowd has got my back, and I'm going to give 150 per cent. It is a great feeling. Instead of nerves, I take it as excitement. It's something that I'm very fortunate to have. I'm definitely looking forward to getting started.”

The 10th seed De Minaur will face former World No. 3 Raonic in the first round, with the Australian leading the Canadian 1-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

De Minaur knows he will have to be at his best on return.

“Ultimately against these types of opponents, if you can get the serve back, you're putting yourself in a decent position,” De Minaur said. “More importantly, you got to look after your own serve. That means staying focused at all times. You can't give a cheap game at any stage because that could almost mean the set.”