“I think it was extremely important [2024 tournament], obviously for my confidence, for using it as a springboard, taking my game to a different level, and also cracking the top 10, and a lot of those milestone moments,” de Minaur said.
Alex de Minaur speaks to the media in Sydney before a practice session on Ken Rosewall arena.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“That was really important for me, and I think I was able to use the confidence that I gathered in the first week of the year and basically have my best year to date ... I’ve been blessed to play some of the best players in the world at the start of the year, and it is the perfect way to kind of get ready for the Australian Open and see where your level is at.
“Because, obviously, you have an off-season, you’re training, you’re tweaking different parts of your game, and it’s always good to see how those improvements are working, if they [are], if they’re not and a great tune up for the Australian Open.”
But it was also a year of frustrations for the 25-year-old, after injury forced him to withdraw from his quarter-final clash against Djokovic at Wimbledon, and tainted the middle part of his season.
But De Minaur has put all injury concerns to rest five days out from his first match against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and said he’s back to feeling his best.
“I’m feeling great. It was a tough year obviously dealing with that [injury]. I’m glad to kind of finally put it on the back-burner and forget about it,” de Minaur said.
De Minaur suffered a hip tear during his fourth-round win over Arthur Fils at Wimbledon in 2024.Credit: AP
“I’ve felt very good in this off-season, in this pre-season we’ve put in a lot of good work. The body is feeling very comfortable, and I am genuinely very excited to get started again.”
With the tennis calendar stretching almost 12 months of the year, players can often be exhausted for players by December. But de Minaur said he was able to take some time to recover before the chaos begins again.
“This old tennis world, there’s not a lot of time for that – to unwind – but I have enjoyed the moment. I’ve done my best to relish the achievements we’ve had this year,” he said.
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“There’s been a lot of highs and a lot of lows, dealing with injuries at the same time, but more than anything it’s just given me a lot of hunger and fuel to drive for bigger and better things, and this whole pre-season I’ve been motivated because I want more.
“I want to keep pushing myself and keep stirring for bigger, better things, and hopefully, I can accomplish that this year.”