Drawing on his renowned court craft and trademark determination, Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur launches his AO 2025 campaign with a win.
Melbourne, Australia, 14 January 2025 | Vivienne Christie
There are two things you can always expect of Alex de Minaur in a high-stakes competitive setting – his trademark speed will be a factor, and so too will his famous fight.
The Australian, seeded No.8 at his home Grand Slam, required both those qualities as he managed the threat of Botic van de Zandschulp to move into the second round of AO 2025.
“As I’ve said before, I know that as soon as I walk on this court, every single one of you guys has my back, so I’m going to do my best from the very first point to the last,” De Minaur told an adoring Rod Laver Arena audience, having saved two points in the second set of his 6-1 7-5 6-4 win.
A challenging first round assignment, but challenges are meant to be overcome.@alexdeminaur gets the better of Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1 7-5 6-4@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/UFyvu9CAS1
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2025
At the outset, De Minaur deftly lived up to his “Speed Demon” moniker as he raced to a 5-0 advantage against the 84th ranked Dutchman then secured a 26-minute first set.
The 25-year-old appeared on track to maintain that speedy momentum as he gained an early break of serve to build a 6-1 3-1 lead.
But Van De Zandschulp is no stranger to an upset, having famously stunned world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open last year.
With his shotmaking starting to damage, Van De Zandschulp levelled in the sixth game and increasingly pressured. Serving at 4-5, a pair of untimely errors saw De Minaur scrambling to defend set points.
> RELATED: De Minaur “driving a culture” says Woodbridge
But with his idol and mentor, Lleyton Hewitt, watching from the on-court Coach Pod, De Minaur inevitably battled. With those set points managed, he turned the tables, securing the second set with an ace.
Firing some brilliant winners – including an unthinkable tweener that had an admiring De Minaur applauding – Van De Zandschulp always challenged. And yet the Aussie remained that little bit stronger, as he utilised his renowned court craft.
YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS 🤯
Botic van de Zandschulp with an outrageous tweener winner on RLA! 🪄@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/lX0kL8lJzR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2025
Seizing his first break point opportunities, he completed his deft progress with a 13th and final ace. It was among 26 winners in his two hours and 22 minutes on court.
De Minaur can look to a second round meeting with American qualifier Tristan Boyer with confidence from the painstaking preparation invested into his eighth tilt at the Australian Open, where he has achieved his best result with final-16 showings in each of thte past three years.
“Honestly what gives me a sense of calm is knowing the amount of work I’ve put in behind the scenes, knowing that I’ve done everything in my power to be ready,” he said.
After a career-best year that saw De Minaur reach the quarterfinal stage of every other Grand Slam, there’s equal assurance in knowing the hip injury that undermined the second half of his season is firmly in the past.
“The body feels great. It’s been a long time since I felt this good and I’m just more than anything, relieved,” he added with a smile. “I’m happy to move, I’m happy to slide around the court, burn my shoes – it’s a good sign that one.”
It was a tougher day for other Australians on AO 2025 Day 3.
At a packed John Cain Arena, Frenchman Corentin Moutet upset an ailing Alexei Popyrin 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.
The Frenchman played some outstanding tennis, showing his familiar craft and piling on the pressure throughout.
Despite the home crowd willing their local hopeful on – the familiar “Poppy” chant floated through the crowd – it wasn’t enough to lift Popyrin, despite the Aussie fighting hard.
Receiving treatment midway through the second set, Popyrin said he felt a sharp pain in his lower back/side glute area while chasing down a dropshot.
“It was really painful for me to push off my left leg and land on my left leg and hit running forehands. I just had to dig deep and play through the pain,” said a dejected Popyrin.
Despite the injury, Popyrin continued battling through and later praised the crowd for their unwavering support.
“I was 5-1 down in the third set and came back to 5-4. It was all them; it wasn’t me. That was all them. You could just see the energy, (it) never stopped throughout the whole four sets,” he said.
“That’s an experience and a memory I’ll take with me, but the rest I’m just going to throw in the bin and forget, because it’s not been great.
“I think I’m known to show heart, but I also want to be known for showing tennis consistently. That’s been my main goal for my whole career.
“I have showed good tennis in glimpses, and for me I want to show it consistently.”
In other Aussie results, Rinky Hijikata fell to Amercian qualifier Mitchell Krueger, who claimed a 6-4 6-4 6-3 win on Court 3.
Olivia Gadecki’s Rod Laver Arena outing ended in under an hour, with 75th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova a 6-1 6-1 winner of their first-round match.
Earlier on Tuesday, teenage wildcard Emerson Jones fell to sixth seed Elena Rybakina, while Kim Birrell exited to lucky loser Eva Lys, a last-minute replacement for 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya, who withdrew.
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to hit the court and have some fun!
