"I take a lot of pride in these types of victories" - Alex de Minaur relieved to get through rocky start to show true capabilities in satisfactory win

Alex de Minaur was bursting with pride and satisfaction after overcoming a rough start to eventually find his best level in a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Hamad Medjedovic in the Australian Open.

The Serbian threw the kitchen sink at the Aussie in the first 90 minutes of the match, winning the first set while continuing to give him a lot to think about on court. In front of a packed Rod Laver Arena, the Aussie number one finally levelled his game a couple of gears with his opponent unable to keep up the pace or his level in fact. What started as a battle turned into a very pleasant victory for de Minaur who marches into the third round of the Australian Open.

"I mean, he was playing some really high-quality stuff," De Minaur admitted in his press conference, not shy of praising his opponent. "As I said, it didn’t surprise me because I know what he’s capable of. It was obviously frustrating having to play against it. He was doing a lot of the right things—serving really well and playing some great shots in big moments. But I’m happy I was able to weather the storm, turn it around, and get to the next round."

He collected a whole heap of satisfaction in turning it around, but did not envy the times when he was most under pressure. "It feels amazing, but it’s a tough position to be in," he said. "You’re in that fine balance where he’s throwing everything at you and everything seems to be going his way. It takes a lot of mental effort to stay in the moment and not get overly frustrated by what’s happening on the other side, just trying to hang with him. I thought I did a really good job of that."

Sometimes in tennis, you have go to be patient and wait for the rewards later down the line, and that is what de Minaur eventually did. "Even though the first set didn’t go my way, I just kept at it. That’s the beauty of five-set matches—it’s a long time to maintain that level. I felt like I could keep my level for a bit longer, and that was the difference today."

As much as most players would want to win on comfortable fashion every time they step onto the court, that is obviously not going to happen with different obstacles always in the way. If able to direct yourself over the rocky roads to victory, players would then take immense pride.

That is how the world number six felt after featuring in that dogfight. "I take a lot of pride in these types of victories, more than anything because I was playing a very tough opponent who played really high-quality tennis," he commented.

"I felt like I was able to hang with him and maintain my level. As the match went on, I was even able to raise my level at times, and I’m very happy with that. I like feeling that I can have that impact on opponents, where they start thinking they’re in for a long night, especially in best-of-five."

He jokingly admitted that if he played like he did in the last two sets for the whole match, then this would been a completely different discussion. "That said, if I can play like I did in the last couple of sets from the start and skip the first set, I’ll take that any day too—save the legs."

The matches are not getting easier. Frances Tiafoe is always a dangerous player when marching on the court, with him known to get in the odd dogfight from time to time. After a break at the end of last year, he has reset his mindset and is a lot more focused at the task at hand.

The two-time US Open semi-finalist also made the quarter-finals in Melbourne back in 2019, and will not be a walk in the park for de Minaur. "Frances is super dangerous. He’s playing well, has a lot of firepower, and he’s a veteran," he said. "We’ve had some battles in the past, so I wouldn’t expect anything other than an absolute battle. He seems locked in, and I’d be really excited for that match."

De Minaur has enjoyed the spoils more often than none against his American rival, triumphing on four occasions in their five previous matchups. "Like we said at the start of the week, it only gets tougher. But I’m very happy with my level and I’m up for the challenge."

The deeper you go into the event, the more night sessions you will play. Players have come out and said their preference whether they want to play with the sun beaming down on them or the lights at Melbourne Park under a stary night. For de Minaur, it is much more simple.

"The way I look at it is that the bigger matches are always going to be played at night. If I want to go deep in this tournament, I need to play well in those conditions," he acknowledged. "Eventually, there are no more day matches, right? So I was happy with the way I dealt with the conditions today."

As the rain came tumbling down, the roof was closed and a return to indoor hardcourt tennis, which would turn out to suit de Minaur more than his opponent. "We started with the roof open and it was quite swirly, then suddenly the roof closed and it became an indoor match. I thought I handled all of that really well. It’s good to get that confidence boost that I can play a good match at night too."

Speaking of the rain, it caused a minor delay in play as the roof was hurriedly closed to continue proceedings. "I thought I was in a pretty good spot and had the momentum on my side, so the timing was a bit tricky," he said. "He took a lengthy toilet break and then the rain came down, so it turned into another 15–20-minute delay. It felt like a restart and allowed him to settle again."

Once he got back in the swing of things, there was really only one way this tennis match was going. "I just wanted to make sure I started well after the break. I came out of the blocks hard, had a really good service game, and that was key. I felt like I had finally gotten on top of him momentum-wise before the delay, so I had to get myself going again—but I’m very pleased with how I handled it."