Alex de Minaur played a key role in Team World’s Laver Cup victory in San Francisco.
De Minaur suffered disappointment at the Davis Cup, but bounced back in another team competition just one week later.
The Australian won all three of his matches in San Francisco, including De Minaur beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Now the new Team World vice-captain Pat Rafter has explained what he has discovered about De Minaur at the Laver Cup over the past weekend.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver CupWhat Pat Rafter has discovered about Alex de Minaur at the Laver Cup
Rafter is also a former Davis Cup captain, but left his role before De Minaur made his debut for Australia in 2018.
Now after having the opportunity to work with his compatriot, Rafter suggested that De Minaur underestimates his own level.
Specifically speaking about his final singles win over Team Europe’s Jakub Mensik, Rafter praised De Minaur’s net play and general dedication to the team, claiming that Team World would have lost without him.
“What he’s also discovered about himself is — he always sort of downplays himself, he’s pretty humble — his doubles play is really good,” Rafter said in the post-match press conference. “He’s a stand-out at the net. He volleys really well.
“What I love today also in his singles, he got down Love-40. He came to the net a couple of times, got passed, and the other guy came in. All of a sudden you’re down. Deuce point, and he comes in again on the guy’s backhand. No worries, do it again, mate.
“So that “never die” attitude, I’m sticking to my guns, I know my game, I know I can handle myself around the net… he’s that type of player. He keeps coming forward. He keeps having a crack.
“You know, when you bring Alex in, I mean, we tried to get him early, and his schedule, as we said, was brutal, but he looked at this event, and he did answer the call from the higher powers that be to get him here. He came along, which yeah, we’re really grateful.
“Without him, we would have seriously struggled. Singles and doubles, he’s offered so much. We saw him today play clutch. We would have been lost without him.”
Alex de Minaur explains the tactic that helped him beat Jakub Mensik
De Minaur won all of his three matches in straight sets, including beating Miami Open champion Mensik, 6-3 6-4.
When asked about the match, De Minaur explained that he was trying to extend the rallies on the slower courts in San Francisco.
“Yeah, very happy with the performance,” said De Minaur. “I did what I needed to do today. It was very tough at moments. I thought he served really well, and I had to do my best to try and get in games and extend rallies as much as possible.
“Just, yeah, I dug really deep through some tough moments, but I’m glad I was able to find the finish line at the end.”
After playing a fundamental role in Team World’s Laver Cup victory, De Minaur will not have much time before his next tournament.
De Minaur will now travel to China for the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing, which gets underway on Thursday, September 25.