
Alex de Minaur’s run at the Australian Open may be over, but he feels he has plenty more to show on tennis' biggest stages.
The 25-year-old World No. 8, who was at his highest career seeding at a Grand Slam, broke new ground in Melbourne by reaching the quarter-finals at his home major for the first time. A fan favourite inside Rod Laver Arena, De Minaur strung together four impressive victories before falling to top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner on Wednesday night.
Sinner appeared a man on a mission with his 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory. Despite defeat, however, De Minaur was quick to address the positives of his campaign and dismiss any suggestions that he may have reached his peak.
“The positives… how I handled everything,” reflected De Minaur after his one-hour, 48-minute quarter-final defeat to Sinner. “The fact that I came in this year [in the] Top 10, with a lot of expectation, a lot of pressure. Obviously the whole country wanted me to do well. I wanted to do well here.
“I thought I handled it really well to put myself in this position. I would have loved to do more today, but this is what happens sometimes in tennis. Look, the negative is after playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you just have been slapped across the face, to be honest, to finish off like that.
“I still don't think this is my ceiling. I still think I've got more in the tank. So I'll be searching for that.”
A phenomenal run at home Demon, you should be so proud 🇦🇺 ♥️ #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/qBRyWxQ0iB
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 22, 2025
After Wednesday’s defeat to Sinner, De Minaur trails the Italian 0-10 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. It was never an easy task for the Australian, who was heading into his maiden last-eight clash at the Australian Open against a man who had won 18 consecutive matches at hard-court majors.
Although the comprehensive manner of De Minaur’s defeat will sting, he can reflect on another impressive Grand Slam campaign of his own. He has now reached the quarter-final stage at each of the past four major tournaments, but is eager for more.
“It's pretty tough right now for me to sit here after this defeat and tell you that I believe I can go all the way,” De Minaur said when asked if he believes he can go deeper at Grand Slams. “But saying that, I do think that there are opportunities out there.
“Tennis is so much about matchups, right? I think right now my worst matchup on Tour is probably Jannik. There's a head-to-head that doesn't lie. If I'm on a different side of the draw, different little section, then who knows? I genuinely think I'm going to give myself opportunities, and I don't think my peak is making quarter-finals in a Slam.
“I see other players that have made it further, have made semis, have made finals, and I do believe that I can be amongst them, right? If they have been able to accomplish that, then why not me?”
The confidence that Sinner exuded throughout his quarter-final clash with De Minaur was palpable. The Italian struck cleanly from the baseline and hardly offered his opponent a look in, saving the only break point he faced in the match, according to Infosys Stats.
De Minaur has often been on the receiving end of this over the past three months. The Australian drew Sinner in his Nitto ATP Finals debut match in November, and was also beaten by the Italian in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup a week later. As a player who has notable experience across the net from Sinner, De Minaur was asked for his thoughts on the World No. 1.
“He's built this aura up from beating everyone,” De Minaur said. “It's not like he's just had a good week here or a good week there. He's just beaten everyone. I think the best way to describe it is the fact that he was able to last year, play Novak here and play pretty flawlessly, and, again, give him not too many games, right? Novak out here is probably the best player to have ever played on these courts, right?
“The fact that he's got this top level that he can do this to players, it's pretty tough. You go into the match, and you know it's going to be a battle, it's going to be tough, you're going to try different things. But then you're an hour and 30 in, and you're struggling to win games, and you're trying to find ways to get on the board. It's pretty surreal.”