Tomas Berdych is no longer quite the player he was, and Alex de Minaur not yet the player he will eventually be. For now, yesterday’s man had too much power and experience for one of the potential stars of tomorrow, winning 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1 In Tuesday’s opening round on Hisense Arena.
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De Minaur’s excellent January adventure earned a warm ovation from the type of partisan Australian crowd that has embraced the admirable 18-year-old’s irresistible runs to the semifinals of the Brisbane International and the final in Sydney. He departed with a weary wave after just over two hours, having been barely able to summon the energy to clap back.
A suspected abdominal niggle did not help De Minaur’s cause against the taller, stronger, heavier-hitting Berdych, but the fast-rising world No.127 has already done much to enhance his Davis Cup selection prospects for next month’s tie against Germany in Brisbane.
A 12-match summer to remember was eventually ended by the seasoned Czech, the 19th seed who has reached at least the semifinals of all four Grand Slams – including at Melbourne Park in 2014-15 – and now advanced to the second round of the Australian Open for the 13th consecutive year.
“First of all I heard a lot about him, but then I see him play these first two weeks of the year and I have to say, for his age, pretty impressive,’’ said Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist and one-time world No.4. “If I see myself and compare to him, well, nowhere near. So it was not an easy one to see him for the first round.’’
The serve helped, though. A lot. Berdych won 47 of the 56 points on his first serve and finished with 46 winners to De Minaur’s 13. The Sydneysider fought bravely through the physical discomfort that clearly affected his own serve, in particular, and persisted as valiantly as one would expect of a youngster already known for his effort and tenacity.
He was still saving break points when down 1-4 in the fourth set, exhorting his sore and tired self onwards, still gamely chasing down every ball. It was not enough, and De Minaur could not emulate his first-round win on debut in 2017 against Gerald Melzer.
But Berdych – who finished last season early to treat a back problem – was a different class of opponent, and even had the lad they call ‘Demon’ been fresh and fully fit, it would still have been a difficult assignment. On a night that he was neither, it proved to be impossible. No shame in that.
So now for the next stage: from beating six top-50 players in two weeks to breaking into the top 100 himself, which is the De Minaur goal by season’s end. His schedule has changed and so has his understanding of where his game is at. In a good way.
“I'm happy with the effort I put in and the fight. I managed to get that set,’’ said the indomitable hustler. “But then he was just too good for me. He blew me off the court. I left it all out there, but it wasn't enough.’’
De Minaur never expected the summer he has produced, but is determined it will not end here. “Now it's just all about keep going throughout the whole year, try not to make this a one-time thing. I'll keep backing myself, keep this level going throughout the whole year.
“Those wins and these couple of weeks now have made me realise that I've got the level, and now I've just got to maintain it day after day. That's something I've been really proud of myself throughout the whole Australian summer. I've been able to back up good matches. I don't think I've had a bad match this summer.
“I now believe I can do it. This is what I want to do. I want to be playing these high-level opponents week in, week out, hopefully have some more good results. That's what I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year.’’
