"I want to prove these people wrong" - Alex De Minaur on how being motivated by his doubters has led to recent success

Tennis star Alex De Minaur has been playing some of his most consistent tennis this season, and the Australian ace attributed this to his desire to prove his nay-sayers wrong.

The Sydney native reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time this year, falling to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. Subsequently, De Minaur reached the final in Rotterdam, where he lost to former World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets.

After a quiet European clay season, De Minaur would reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, losing to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. The 26-year would then go on a tear after SW19, winning his 10th career title at the DC Open a few weeks later.

De Minaur's victory in Washington saw him return to the top 10 in the ATP Rankings. Seeded ninth at the ongoing Canadian Open, the Aussie superstar defeated former US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals.

Although De Minaur has been on an eight-match winning streak prior to his quarterfinal appearance in Toronto, the World No.8 has failed to defeat a top 10 player this season. With many critics doubting his ability to win a Grand Slam, De Minaur opted to use this as motivation to improve his game.

"I think what drives that constant pursuit of improving is just… yeah I hear all the reasons why I shouldn’t be in the top 10, or all the reasons why I shouldn’t be where I am, people don’t understand it," said the Aussie star after his win over Tiafoe. “When I see and I hear that, it just drives me, because I want more, I want to prove these people wrong.
"So it ends up making me find all those different aspects of my game where I can improve. And I know there’s a lot of different aspects and obviously the serve is a big one. The serve comes and goes depending on the week but it has been an improvement.
“I feel like I’ve been a lot more aggressive and just have the mindset right, like be okay with the result not going your way but playing on your terms. So these kind of things all together have given me a pretty good mindset. That’s what I’m clawing at at the moment, a pretty good mindset."