Alex de Minaur has been on a tear since losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
The Australian has won his last eight ATP Tour matches; winning the Washington Open title and reaching the Canadian Open quarter-finals.
De Minaur’s most recent victory, against Frances Tiafoe, sparked broad admiration for the Australian on social media after an incredible demonstration of court coverage at a significant point in the match.
However, the 26-year-old has failed to defeat a top-10 ATP player this season, which raises various questions regarding his Grand Slam title-winning credentials.
After defeating Tiafoe in three sets at the Canadian Open, de Minaur discussed the motivation he takes from any criticism he receives.
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images‘I hear all the reasons why I shouldn’t be in the top 10’
Speaking to the Tennis Channel after his victory over Tiafoe, De Minaur explained what drives his constant pursuit of improvement.
De Minaur said: “I think what drives that constant pursuit of improving is just… yeah I hear all the reasons why I shouldn’t be in the top 10, or all the reasons why I shouldn’t be where I am, people don’t understand it.
“When I see and I hear that, it just drives me, because I want more, I want to prove these people wrong.
“So it ends up making me find all those different aspects of my game where I can improve. And I know there’s a lot of different aspects and obviously the serve is a big one. The serve comes and goes depending on the week but it has been an improvement.
“I feel like I’ve been a lot more aggressive and just have the mindset right, like be okay with the result not going your way but playing on your terms. So these kind of things all together have given me a pretty good mindset. That’s what I’m clawing at at the moment, a pretty good mindset.”
De Minaur then added: “I just want it, I want it badly.”
Ben Shelton has high praise for Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur faces big-serving Ben Shelton in the Canadian Open quarter-finals. Like de Minaur, Shelton came through a gargantuan battle, this time against Italian star Flavio Cobolli.
Shelton and de Minaur have never contested a match on the ATP Tour.
De Minaur will have to work on his serve ahead of his clash against Shelton. The ‘Demon’ only made 42 per cent of his first serves against Frances Tiafoe. He was somewhat fortunate that Tiafoe also struggled on serve, landing only 48 per cent of his first serves throughout the contest.
After the match, Shelton spoke about de Minaur, saying he is ‘prepared for a war.’ Shelton and de Minaur have never contested a match on the ATP Tour.
Speaking to reporters, Shelton said: “Yeah, he’s a dawg. I’m ready for it. And for people who haven’t heard that saying, that’s a good thing ][laughing]. He’s very fast. He’s in a great rhythm, you saw what he did in DC. He’s a great front runner, and you can never count him out when he’s down.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
So I’m prepared for a war. I’m really excited. It’s our first matchup. We’ve had some practice, some competitive practice sets. He puts it on the line in practice as well, that’s one of the things that I love about him. Yeah, I’m really excited.
“I love playing against, you know, some of the best players in the world in late stages of tournaments, so that’s the only thing that you can hope for, and what I always look forward to.
“He’s playing amazing tennis. You guys saw it last week in DC. We saw some of the highlights of what he’s done so far here. Yeah, I’m really enjoying and looking forward to that matchup.”