Alex de Minaur has been going viral on tennis social media after the insane point he won just last night against Frances Tiafoe.
Facing the American in the Canadian Open Round of 16, it was a tense match between two similarly ranked players.
After all, there was so much at stake in an event that saw its top-three title contenders all withdraw before it had even begun, an elite-level title looms for an unlikely champion.
De Minaur clearly seems well aware of this opportunity, and was therefore unwilling to surrender any cheap points to yesterday’s opponent.
This manifested itself into one of the most ridiculous points of the year, as the Australian hunted down shot after shot before forcing Tiafoe into making an error. As such, the clip has surfaced everywhere.
Katie Boulter pokes fun at Alex de Minaur after crazy point at Canadian Open
And rightly so, as De Minaur deserves his flowers when the chance to praise him arises.
Never the flashiest player, he puts his head down and works hard, which can often make for a rather limited highlight reel.
Alas, there is not a player on the ATP Tour who would relish a match against him, with his work rate and point construction always awkward to deal with.
The former was in full effect during this particular point though, as he scrambled from one side of the court to the other to return shots that would have sailed past most other players.
Even a deft drop shot from Tiafoe was not enough, with De Minaur’s lightning-fast speed getting him there in time to chip it to the backhand and force an error.
And yet, Katie Boulter would react with sarcasm on social media, clearly taking a phrase often uttered by De Minaur and using it against him.
Her fiancé simply replied to her tweet: “It’s called anticipation.”
Alex de Minaur must be a nightmare to play against
If this point proves anything, it’s that De Minaur must be horrible to play against.
After all, Tiafoe had won that point nearly three times over, yet was forced to make one more shot every time.
His two forehands were fierce, and his drop shot was far out of reach. The problem was that they were against De Minaur, who fights for every point and forces his opponent to put the ball way beyond him.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Reacting in his post-match press conference, he admitted: “Yeah, look, it’s kind of, it’s part of my DNA, right, never to let a point go, no matter what position in the rally I’m in. Yeah, today was a crucial example of what it can mean if you make that extra point, right?”
This reaction from his fiancée was very different to when Boulter congratulated De Minaur on his Washington title just last month.