Alex de Minaur sends fiery message as Australia down Novak Djokovic’s Serbia at United Cup
Alex de Minaur revealed the source of his inspiration to improve his game after defeating Novak Djokovic to help Australia beat Serbia at the 2024 United Cup in Perth.
The world No 12 explained that his motivation to keep developing “comes from a lot of people not believing in me” and asserted he is “just here to prove a lot of people wrong.”
De Minaur overcame Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 in the men’s singles rubber in the quarter-finals of the United Cup on Wednesday to give Australia a 1-0 lead against Serbia.
It was the first time the 24-year-old prevailed against Djokovic and also his maiden triumph over a player ranked world No 1 at the time.
Following de Minaur’s win, Ajla Tomljanovic dismantled Natalija Stejanovic 6-1, 6-1 to clinch the victory for Australia and send the hosts into the semi-finals of the event.
Australia will take on either Greece or Germany in the last four at the weekend, with that quarter-final tie to be contested on Friday.
Four-time major winner Jim Courier asked de Minaur about the inspiration for the addition of the slice backhand and drop shot, which he utilised effectively against Djokovic.
“Well, it comes from a lot of people not believing in me so I’m just here to prove a lot of people wrong, try to keep on getting better,” he declared in his on-court interview.
“Ultimately, I’m never gonna be the biggest or the strongest guy so I’ve gotta adapt, I’ve gotta show that I’ve got variety in my game and I’ve got different styles of playing tennis and I’m glad I was able to bring this level today.”
De Minaur outlined the types of statements made by doubters about his game and potential and reiterated his determination to prove people wrong.
“No, look, I mean, it’s something I’ve heard my whole career. I’m not big enough, I’m not strong enough, I’m a pusher, don’t have the firepower. Never going to be a top player. But, you know, I hear this week in, week out,” the Australian said in his press conference.
“The only thing that does is give me more fire and adds more gasoline to this engine that’s ready to do everything in its power to prove people wrong. Hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I know that I’m going to get the absolute most out of myself.”
The Australian was also asked to compare his victory over Djokovic to beating Rafael Nadal in the same competition 12 months ago and suggested this one was the biggest win of his career.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I guess this one is the first because it’s world No 1, and honestly, like, as I said, last time we played I was lucky to get games, right, to the point where I felt almost embarrassed on the court. I think it’s been a nice little changeup from one year ago,” he explained.
“I’m happy that I was able to play that sort of tennis, that level and especially have that mentality. It’s not easy to walk back out on court after you’ve been kind of thrashed last time.”
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