"It was the best news I’ve got in a long, long time" – Alex de Minaur jokes qualifying for ATP Final was better than getting engaged to Katie Boulter

Alex de Minaur will be making a second consecutive return to the ATP Finals. The news was confirmed to an oblivious de Minaur after he got the better of Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-2 to blast through into the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

The Aussie went 3-0 ahead in the premature stages after securing an early break. He would then survive a break opportunity from the Russian to later take his second break point to clinch set one. The second set took exactly the same amount of time as the first (34 minutes) with de Minaur wanting to get this match wrapped up. A second break of serve once again to culminate the set confirmed the victory and a matchup against Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals. This will be played without the added stress on his shoulders of qualifying for Turin, with that now in the bag.

"I had no idea. I mean, it was the best news I’ve got in a long, long time," de Minaur said after the match in an interview with Tennis Channel "No, I had no idea. Of course, there’s so much chatter the last three or four weeks of the year — that’s what everyone’s talking about. So there’s a lot of stress, and I did my best not to pay attention as much as I could. But yeah, I had no idea that securing that win was enough. So yeah, it was a lot of relief, and I’m very, very happy with that."

It was a tough contest against Gabriel Diallo in de Minaur's first contest in Paris, just getting over the line in three sets, followed by a huge sigh of relief. He revealed that he struggled for rhythm against the Canadian, something that he quickly found against the Russian enroute to a massive victory.

"It was a really good mental effort. After coming through a battle yesterday where there wasn’t a lot of rhythm and there were tough moments — I didn’t play as well as I’d have liked — today I just backed myself from the very first point," de Minaur said. "I went out there, tried to be aggressive, tried to play my brand of tennis. I knew I couldn’t allow him to dictate me around the court. From the very first point, I tried to get him moving, get him uncomfortable, and ultimately back myself. I didn’t know that if I won I was going to qualify for Turin, but I knew that I wanted to back myself and play my brand of tennis — to chase Turin, not let Turin fall into my lap, if you know what I mean."

The world number six was not allowing anything get in the way of qualifying for Turn. "Yeah, look, I mean, the way I was kind of looking at it — and probably given the position I was in — I just didn’t want to add extra elements of stress, right?" he said. "I just tried to focus on my side of the court and play my brand of tennis. That’s what’s put me in this position. Adding extra elements was only going to make things a lot more complicated.

"So I’m very proud of my mental efforts to continue going out there, because as we’ve seen, there are a lot of good players still around and a lot of points on offer. So I knew that, even though I was in a good position, very easily any one of these players could come out and win the tournament — and hey, then all of a sudden you’re scrapping to play next week. So I’m extremely pleased to have made it a second year in a row. It shows consistency and how my level has risen over the years, and I’m very proud of that."

Only Alcaraz (67) has picked up more wins than de Minaur (55) this year. He has reached two finals, winning the title in Washington while losing out to the Spaniard in Rotterdam. This shows off his consistency when stepping out onto the court, something that he has worked on over the years.

"I think the evolution comes from belief — from wanting more and having that desire to keep improving," he said. "I knew I wasn’t going to be where I am now if I didn’t change things, if I didn’t improve, if I didn’t adapt to the players. It meant becoming a more aggressive version of myself. The mindset was really important, especially in the big moments. I had to go out there and take it to these guys, because the level is way too good to just hope they start missing — or to rely too much on my speed and become too passive. You’ve got to go out there and take those chances yourself. That mindset change has definitely helped me over the last couple of years."  

Previewing ahead to tomorrow's quarter-final clash against the Kazakhstani, de Minaur knows it will be a challenging matchup. Aside from Alcaraz (8), no one else has won more titles in 2025 than Bublik who is tied level with Jannik Sinner on four.

"I think he’s a completely different player right now — we’ve all seen it," de Minaur said. "He’s a very focused, engaged Sasha, and we all know that’s very dangerous. He’s got the ability to take the racket out of your hands. He’s serving great, playing with a lot of confidence, so it’s going to be tough. Ultimately, I’m looking forward to it. There’s a lot that can happen — I’m going to do my best to make it as uncomfortable as I can for him. I’m ready for everything Sasha can bring. I’m expecting an absolute battle because he’s extremely talented, and his level has been amazing as of late. So yeah, he’s one to look out for."