While the first major of the year can be a mix of stress and excitement for all players, it’s even more so for Australians. The country hasn’t produced a men’s Australian Open champion since Mark Edmondson in 1976, so the hopes are largely pinned on De Minaur, the top-ranked Australian player and No. 6 seed, to reverse the drought. But he has a tough draw.
But with all of that on his shoulders, how is De Minaur feeling as the Australian Open gets underway, and does he believe he can beat Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner when the stakes are highest?
De Minaur: Basically just the week-and-a-half. There’s just not that much more time, I’ll tell you that. It’s kind of the world we live in. It’s a quick turnaround, but again, I’m happy that I was able to take a little bit of time off to switch off and recover and get myself mentally ready to start off again.
ESPN: With the 2025 season now in the rearview, what stands out to you when you reflect on it and what are you most proud of?
De Minaur: The Australian fans are very patriotic. They are full of energy. They get behind their players and they are the best type of fan. I feel like the only thing they expect from their players is to give it their all and they’re going to have your back from the very first point until the last. It’s amazing to feel as a player.
De Minaur: As I said, they’ve got your back. Ultimately what I try to do is to engage with the crowd as much as I can because they’re the ones that kind of give me the energy that I need, especially during the most tough moments. They can get me out of a hole and ultimately all I want to do is play some good tennis for them. It’s extra motivation.
ESPN: I’m sure that feeling gets multiplied at the Australian Open. What is it like to play at the tournament as the top-ranked Australian?
ESPN: Have you gotten used to the extra pressure and attention at the tournament? Have you found ways over the past few years to deal with that?
De Minaur: Well, I’m hoping for anything better. Hopefully, but it’s tough. Ideally, I’m not measuring success in results, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want to go deeper this coming year. So yeah, I’ll say, I think my level is there. Hopefully I can execute when it gets to then and put myself in contention for the Slam [title].
ESPN: You mentioned dreaming of playing as a kid at the Australian Open, was there a final or a moment that helped spark that?
De Minaur: There have been plenty of iconic finals, I’ll tell you that. And plenty of iconic Lleyton [Hewitt] matches that stand out for me, when he beat [Marcos] Baghdatis at the crack of dawn [in a 2008 third-round match that ended at a record-setting 4:34 a.m.]. That was pretty epic.
And then there were some incredible Rafa [Nadal]-Novak [Djokovic] finals, Rafa-Roger finals, there are so many to choose from. But playing there too has always been the dream. As a kid watching, it was the ultimate goal to be out there playing in front of those packed stadiums and they often still are pinch-me moments. I am definitely very fortunate to be in the position that I’m in and I don’t take it for granted. And yeah, hopefully there’s going to be many, many more of those.
De Minaur: I think competing in Sydney in front of a packed stadium on one of the courts that I grew up practicing on [in 2017] and then being able to win the title, my first ATP title, in Sydney [in 2019] was definitely a very special moment.
De Minaur: They’re definitely playing at a pretty high level and they have set the standard. So for us, the rest of us competitors, we are going to do our best to find a way to try and compete with them, and match with them, and ultimately make their life as difficult as we can.
ESPN: What, if anything, is different in preparing for a match against Alcaraz or Sinner? Does it change how you approach the match?
De Minaur: Ultimately it’s finding your way to beat them. You’re going to try different things. As we’ve gone forward, there’s been different types of game style and matches and matchups, so there’s been a little bit of tweaking here and there that goes when you try to play these types of guys and ultimately beat the best players in the world. So, you’ve got to do your best and try to bring out your best level because if not, you’re going to be in a whole lot of trouble.
De Minaur: I mean, it’s a challenge for sure. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to improve on, and as I said, I feel like I’ve got a little bit more to give in my career, so hopefully I can keep on pushing towards that, improving and ultimately breaking through against the two best players in the world. So far I haven’t been able to get that breakthrough, so the plan is to get there at some point.
ESPN: You’ve often credited your fiancee Katie Boulter [currently the No. 113-ranked player on the WTA Tour] for helping you on and off the court. How has she helped you and what is it like to have her support when you’re playing at the same tournaments?
De Minaur: Sometimes. It depends. We try our best to not talk too much tennis and live more of a normal life.
De Minaur: It’s definitely going. It’s a whole process, obviously it’s not the easiest with both of us being tennis players, and pretty busy for most of the year. It’s a process for sure.
De Minaur: Well, we really just didn’t have too many dates to choose from, so that helped. We have a packed schedule so it ultimately came down to when we had a second for ourselves. That’s how we made all of our decisions.
De Minaur: I like that they show my personality off the court a bit. I think people think I’m very serious because of what they see on the tennis court, but it’s a fun way for me to show how I truly am off the court. Ultimately, I’m pretty laid back, pretty relaxed, kind of a goofy guy. So it brings out that kind of side of me.
De Minaur: There’s some videos that people seemed to have enjoyed more than others but yeah, they seemed to have really enjoyed my work as a parking lot attendant.
He was originally given the challenge of facing former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the opening round before Berrettini withdrew. He will now take on Mackenzie McDonald, a lucky loser, in the first round on Monday, and Frances Tiafoe could await in the third round. From there, it would only get harder. Alexander Bublik is a potential round-of-16 opponent and, if De Minaur makes it to the quarterfinals, he would likely have to take on Carlos Alcaraz. “It basically just means that I’m going to have to be firing from the word ‘Go,'” De Minaur said of his path.
De Minaur: It’s great to have someone there by your side who’s in the same world as you are, kind of understands the good moments, the tough moments, and everything in between, and ultimately just has your back. On the court, ultimately we’ve got two different game styles and I think we both help each other out at times. There’s a whole lot of mental perspective stuff as well, like how we each look at situations and matches and what we’re thinking in certain types of points. I do think that we’ve both been able to complement each other and almost get the most out of each other.
We caught up with De Minaur last month to get those answers and more.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
ESPN: So you didn’t go to the Maldives, with what felt like most of the tour?
De Minaur: No, sadly I didn’t. I didn’t go to the player lounge of the Maldives.
ESPN: How long did you go without picking up a tennis racket? Did you first return to the gym?
ESPN: What’s it like to get to start the year in Australia?
ESPN: It may seem kind of obvious, but how does that support help you during a tight match?
ESPN: You made your first quarterfinals there last year. How will you define success this year?
ESPN: Do you talk strategy with one another before matches?
ESPN: Speaking of that, how is the wedding planning going?
ESPN: How hard was it just to find a date on the calendar that worked?
ESPN: Is there one that fans tend to reference or bring up more with you?
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ESPN: First, how was your offseason? What did you do?