Alex de Minaur gives Novak Djokovic the ultimate praise and hopes for ‘home’ Wimbledon support
Alex de Minaur has told Tennis365 that nothing surprises him when it comes to Novak Djokovic, as he insisted he expects the Serbian legend to be at his brilliant best at Wimbledon once again.
The seven-time champion at the All England Club was expected to miss the tournament after he had to withdraw from the French Open with a right knee injury and subsequently had surgery earlier this month.
However, Djokovic practised on Centre Court with Jannik Sinner on Thursday before a day later declaring himself pain-free after he beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 in an exhibition match at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham.
Djokovic is pencilled in to start his 19th Championships on Tuesday against qualifier Vit Kopriva and is hopeful his knee will hold up to the rigours of five-set tennis.
His potential rivals at Wimbledon have all expressed their admiration for Djokovic after his remarkable comeback from injury and now De Minaur has given his verdict in an exclusive interview with Tennis365.
Ahead of his appearance in the UTS New York City event in August, De Minaur gave us an exclusive interview on the eve of Wimbledon and the name of Djokovic inevitably rose to the surface as the grass court great looks to equal Roger Federer’s all-time record of eight titles at the All England Club.
“It doesn’t surprise me, he is superhuman,” declared De Minaur, as he spoke to Tennis365 about Djokovic’s comeback from injury.
“He’s done incredible things before and I expect him to be back and ready to go for it Wimbledon.
“I’m pretty sure he will be back, playing at the top of his game and looking like he never had an injury. That’s what we expect from Novak and we shouldn’t be surprised by anything he does.”
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Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur: Tennis power couple could take Wimbledon by storm
De Minaur’s return to Wimbledon comes after a year that saw his relationship with British No 1 player Katie Boulter create plenty of headlines.
The couple appear to be driving each other to greater heights on the court, with Boulter’s win at the Nottingham Open earlier this month coinciding with De Minaur’s title win at the Libema Open at s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
This was the second time Boulter and De Minaur won titles on the same weekend and he admits the happiness they are both enjoying off the court is helping them on it.
“I’m super proud of everything she is accomplishing,” said De Minuar told is. “The way she is handling the pressure and expectation that is around her now as she has achieved success is just amazing.
“To go out there and defend her title in Nottingham having to play five sets on the Sunday due to the rain earlier in the week was pretty incredible.
“Hopefully now she has had some time to get ready for Wimby and she can have a great tournament.
“It would be great if we could both play some great tennis and it would be a pretty nice story if we can both go on a run.
“We accept there will be publicity around us if we both do well and we are fine with that.
“At the end of the day, we are both pretty quiet people, but we have come to terms with the fact that when we are winning tournaments on the same day is a story the press will run with.
“In general, all the publicity has been positive so far and that’s fine. It’s a good problem to have.”
British fans don’t generally support their old rivals from Australia in a sporting contest, but De Minaur is hoping some of the Wimbledon fans who have embraced his romance with Boulter will get behind him in London.
“I’d love to have the Brits on board,” added De Minaur with a smile. “I’ve always had a very good reception at Wimbledon and I can’t wait to get started. The days before the tournament are always very exciting and I’m looking forward to it now.”
UTS New York City takes place at the legendary Forest Hills Stadium, the site of the US Open Tennis Championships for 60 years, between August 22-23. De Minaur will be joined in the fast-paced form of tennis by Andrey Rublev, Nick Kyrgois, Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils in a star-studded line-up taking to court just before the US Open.
