De Minaur is copping plenty of brutal criticism after his loss to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.
Jelena Dokic has launched a staunch defence of Alex de Minaur and his performance against Jannik Sinner on Wednesday night after the Aussie was knocked out of the Australian Open in brutal fashion. De Minaur lost his 10th match in 10 attempts against the World No.1, going down 6-3 6-2 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
The World No.8 copped some ugly criticism on social media over the display, and Channel 9 commentator Jim Courier even joked it’d be better if fiancee Katie Boulter didn’t have Wi-Fi to check the score while flying back to the UK. De Minaur even took the step of firing back at a notorious tennis fan on social media who wrote: “Alex de Minaur has zero self belief that he can even compete with Sinner let alone beat him. Awful performance from him.”
De Minaur responded: “Hey mate it’s a shame that you never became a good enough player to experience playing Jannik. I’m sure you would’ve put up a better performance and know exactly how to beat him. Wishing you all the best!!!”
The fan (known as Pavvy G) is a Novak Djokovic fanatic and has criticised de Minaur in the past for suggesting the Serbian star wasn’t as injured as he was suggesting. Pavvy G led some brutal backlash against de Minaur on Wednesday night, with some pointing out that qualifier Tristan Schoolkate fared better against Sinner.
Jelena Dokic and Aussie greats slap down de Minaur haters
But discussing the situation on Channel 9 on Thursday morning, Dokic said de Minaur can hold his head high and was simply beaten by a better opponent playing out of his skin. “Let’s not forget this is what Jannik Sinner has been doing to everyone, the whole field for the last 12 months,” Dokic said. “I don’t think anyone should make any negative comments about Alex. In fact, we should be proud. He’s made four-consecutive quarter-finals now, the first since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.”
Sam Stosur and John Millman expressed similar sentiments, with Stosur saying: “What a tournament. He made the quarter-finals, lost to the No.1 player in the world who was really on fire. Alex, you’re doing great. I know you want that win over someone like Sinner, 10-0 is not great but your day will come.”
Millman added: “Buddy, I’m so proud of you, you flew the Australian flag incredibly well. Keep working. That’s what Team de Minaur will be doing.”
Todd Woodbridge highlights glaring reality of men’s tennis
Todd Woodbridge pointed out that despite de Minaur being World No.8, there’s a huge gap between the top three or four players and the rest of the field. De Minaur has a losing record against the likes of Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.
Woodbridge pinponted de Minaur’s backhand as an area he needs to fix in order to match it with the top dogs. “He’s still able to improve,” Woodbridge said. “He’s improved his serve [but] he needs more shape on the backhand and then you can match what Sinner does. When Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic, and you can throw (Alexander) Zverev in there too – when they play at their highest level there’s a gap between No.4 and 10 and it’s quite a big gap. It’s quite incredible.”
Dokic added: “He is in the top 10 in the world, but like Todd said these three players are the top in the world. They have the power and for me, the thing Alex can potentially do – and we’re nitpicking – but add in the slice, the drop-shot. But come forward as well.”
Alex de Minaur confident he can win a grand slam
Speaking in his post-match press conference, de Minaur dismissed claims he’s not a genuine grand slam contender. “It’s pretty tough right now for me to sit here after this defeat and tell you that I believe I can go all the way,” he admitted.
“But saying that, I do think that there are opportunities out there. Tennis is so much about match-ups, right? Yeah, I think right now my worst match-up on tour is probably Jannik. You know, there’s a head-to-head that doesn’t lie. If I’m in a different side of the draw, different little section, then who knows? I genuinely think I’m going to give myself opportunities, and I don’t think my peak is making quarter-finals in a slam.”
And Courier reckons that opportunity might come at Wimbledon. “Be ready to take your chance when it comes,” the American said on Thursday morning. “You might get a window at Wimbledon where we all think he has the best chance there. That surface works so well for his assets.”
