Pat Rafter, a renowned tennis player, is convinced that the buzz surrounding Alex de Minaur is legitimate and that the talented local player has the potential to make it to the finals of the Australian Open.
The anticipation is building as de Minaur competes in the first major tournament of the season, having recently defeated top players Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz in the United Cup.
The 24-year-old has risen to the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time, thanks to three highly coveted victories. This comes just in time for the upcoming Melbourne Park tournament, which begins on January 14th.
Former world No 1 Rafter sat down with de Minaur last year when he was looking for ways to turn his five fourth-round and solitary quarter-final major appearances into something more.
Two-time US Open champion Rafter, who lost two Wimbledon finals and reached the final four in Melbourne once, reckons de Minaur is ready to make his own mark in majors.
Rafter told AAP that during the match against Zverev, he had a realization that the kid was beginning to truly understand the game.
It is quite a feat to defeat Zverev when he is at his peak, and now de Minaur has achieved a top 10 ranking.
I am surprised that we have only reached 25% by this point.
“I had higher expectations for his performance and I believe he will improve in the upcoming rounds, specifically the semifinals and finals.”
These are the goals that de Minaur is determined to achieve.
De Minaur expressed in Melbourne on Monday that achieving this would definitely be a dream come true.
The effort I dedicate ultimately determines my success at the slams and my ability to reach the later stages of these tournaments.
For some time, I have set a goal for myself to make it into the second week of Grand Slam tournaments and reach the later stages of other competitions. This is exactly where I have been aiming to be.
“I have had a successful preparation and I am hoping to maintain the same level of performance when the tournament begins.”
“Not just to do it in two-set matches, to bring it for a whole four, five hours if need be.”
De Minaur has been motivated by those who doubt his ability to rival the top athletes in the sport.
However, Rafter believes that de Minaur’s progress is not due to an increase in physical strength.
According to Rafter, he may have only slightly increased his patience.
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He is gaining more confidence in himself and playing with fewer errors. He is also taking more risks to stay in longer rallies.
Alex attempted to take a strong and forceful swing at the ball.
I believe he simply needed to pause and practice a bit more patience.
De Minaur attributes his recent success to his strong work ethic and positive mindset.
“Naturally, I’ve made some small enhancements to my game,” de Minaur stated.
“I have improved my strength and am now playing with a more aggressive and diverse style.”
In the end, much of it comes down to belief: having confidence in myself, trusting that I am capable of defeating these competitors, and then showing it.
De Minaur is at the forefront of a group of 10 Australians ranked within the top 111 in the world, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1998 when eight Aussies, including Rafter, finished the year inside the top 100.
In that particular year, Rafter, Philippoussis, Stoltenberg, Fromberg, Draper, Ilie, Woodforde, and Woodbridge were among the top 60 players in the world.
Rafter expressed that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and had a great time, but the others may not have realized the extent of our enjoyment.
“We took care of one another, motivated one another.”
