Honorary Brit Alex de Minaur picked up the UTS Grand Final title in London’s Copper Box Arena for the second year running – and banked £480k ($640k) for three days’ work. The world No. 7 defeated Casper Ruud by three quarters to one in Sunday’s final to retain the lightning bolt trophy that he picked up 12 months ago. Every time De Minaur picks up a healthy prize cheque, he knows the money is going straight into his wedding budget after popping the question to British tennis star Katie Boulter last year.
But the London-based Aussie doesn’t want to take things too far with their upcoming nuptials. A date has been set, and a venue has already been picked, though De Minaur and Boulter don’t want to get ahead of themselves when it comes to the budget.
“Well, sadly, it is the focus, right?” De Minaur joked. “No, of course, I’m extremely proud of the efforts throughout the whole weekend, and it’s an incredible bonus to be able to leave London with that pot.
“Ultimately, I don’t know what will happen, but, you know, we don’t want to have too much of an extravagant wedding, right? I’ve got to keep the budget, right? We can’t keep lifting the budget if I have good weeks of the tournament! But yeah, a lot will go towards the wedding, that’s for sure.”
De Minaur also won the UTS Grand Final on the same stage last year, going undefeated across the group stage, the semis, and the final. This time, the world No. 7 lost one round-robin match before bouncing back to end the weekend with the trophy once again.
The speedy 26-year-old thrives in the unusual format, which sees players compete to win as many points as possible across four quarters, each eight minutes long. While his endurance plays a big part in his success, De Minaur also benefited from some home comforts this weekend.
The Australian ace, who lives with British No. 4 Boulter in London, believes his status as a local helps him at the tournament. De Minaur added: “I love coming back here. I think it’s a great energy, great atmosphere.
“A couple of the nights. I’m staying at home, and I’m just going out and about and enjoying what London has to offer. Ultimately, it’s been a great weekend here in London, and it’s always great to be here, and I play pretty well on this court, so I can’t complain.”
The 10-time title winner will now enjoy a day off before he resumes his pre-season training. After picking up back-to-back titles at the Olympic Park venue, De Minaur is now hoping his London success could translate 12 miles away to the All England Club. “I would love nothing more than to come back to Wimbledon and have a massive result there,” he smiled.