It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Australian No.1 and newly-minted Sydney International champion Alex de Minaur.
For all the associated highs that come with winning a maiden ATP title in your home town – among them a private jet for an early-morning flight to Melbourne on Sunday – there are also the challenges of recovery, recalibrating and refocusing ahead of his first Grand Slam as a seeded player.
“Well, I had pretty much a whole day to just chillax, sit back and reflect on a great week,” the 19-year-old said a day before his opening match against Pedro Sousa on Monday.
“I'm playing tomorrow. The Open starts – got to come back and do it all again, I've just got to reset and start again.”
First up: recovery. De Minaur played both his rain-delayed semifinal and final on Saturday at Sydney Olympic Park, perhaps not the schedule coach Lleyton Hewitt would have prescribed for his charge two days out from a Grand Slam.
Having clinched the title at 10.15pm on Saturday in Sydney, the No.27 seed was out practicing at Margaret Court Arena by noon on Sunday – a testament to his commitment to a deep run at Melbourne Park, and his efforts, and those of his team, to keep him primed for the fray.
“That's something that I've realised, especially last year, how important it is, taking care of the body – putting a lot of emphasis on the recovery part of things, just to put myself in the best possible position to perform each time I step out on court,” de Minaur said.
“There's a lot of hours after the match spent on recovery, on treatment, ice bath, massage. It's really helped. I mean, the body is feeling good, I'm ready to go.”
For the first time in his fledgling career, de Minaur heads into the Australian Open as the nation’s No.1, a mantle he shares with fellow Sydney finalist Ash Barty. It has boosted his profile in the street and around the grounds, he admits, but nothing else has changed as far as he’s concerned.
“I'm still the same kid I was two years ago, a year ago, doing the same old thing,” de Minaur insisted.
“I'm just focusing on myself, just trying to keep improving. That's the main part: keep listening to the team of guys I've got around me, who have my best interests at heart. If I can just keep on listening to them, keep working hard, hopefully the results will show.”
Monday is set to be a scorcher at Melbourne Park, and with the Australian Open debuting its new heat rules in 2019 there is talk that the show court roofs may come into play. Scheduled third on MCA no earlier than 3pm, it’s likely to be sweltering at court level – something the boy from Carss Park believes will suit him to a tee.
“I'm a strong believer that you just got to adapt to the conditions on that day,” he said.
“Anything can happen. I think that's one of the things I've really focused on, to be versatile and to be able to adapt to sort of all these different conditions.
“I've always loved playing in the heat. I've grown up playing in the heat. If it was to stay open, great. If they were to close the roof, great as well. It's not going to change what I'm going to do – I'm going to go out there, compete, try my hardest, we'll see what happens.”
There’s more to de Minaur than trying hard, and word is getting out. While he admits he still thinks of himself as a kid in a locker room of men, there’s no doubt in his mind that on court, he can mix it with the best of them – as he proved at the US Open, where he pushed former champion Marin Cilic to five sets in the third round, having led by two sets to love.
“Yeah, I feel like I'm closing the gap,” he said. “I've had some tough matches against quality players. I've been learning from those experiences, as well.
“Hopefully I can have a lot more matches against these top guys because that means I'm doing something right, playing some good tennis. Hopefully I can push them and even try to just sneak a couple wins here and there.”
Devastating at the time, de Minaur now looks back on that US Open loss to Cilic with a sense of pride. If nothing else, it sent a message: “I never stop fighting until the end.
“That's something I want to be known for, something that I want to bring every single time I step out on court. Hopefully all the players in the locker room realise that that's sort of the player I am.”
