‘I’m playing to win it’: Demon dominates first round – and declares his title intent
Updated ,first published
Alex de Minaur has boldly declared his days as a grand slam also-ran are over – and his sights are set on Australian Open title glory.
Australia’s world No.6 and leading hope enjoyed the most dominant start to any of his nine Open main draw appearances on Monday, blitzing outmatched lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 beatdown in only 108 minutes.
Only once has de Minaur conceded fewer games at Melbourne Park than he did against McDonald: his 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 dismissal of Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the second round of the 2024 edition.
De Minaur reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time last year and has reached that round at the majors on six occasions – but wants to bust through that barrier.
“The way I’m feeling at the moment is that I’ve gotten to a stage where I’m not just another number in this draw,” de Minaur said.
“I’m playing to win it, and be one of those guys in contention. I’m going to do my best, and it’s not about being satisfied if I make a second week, a quarter-finals, a semis … it’s just going to be having that mindset of, ‘OK, I’m going for this’, and it’s going to take one step at a time.
“But I’m not just making up the numbers now. It’s about me believing in my abilities, and that’s going to be the only thing that’s going to allow me to ultimately take that next step.”
De Minaur advances to a first-ever meeting with rising Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, who took three hours to take out Argentine Mariano Navone, 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2.
But there is a challenging path ahead if he negotiates the powerful Medjedovic, with dual grand slam semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe (third round), 10th seed Alexander Bublik (fourth round) and world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz (quarter-finals) potential upcoming foes.
De Minaur’s first-round match also shaped as a possible banana-peel start when the draw came out, only for it to turn into a cakewalk.
The Australian star was originally supposed to face Matteo Berrettini, a player with the racquet artillery to trouble him – and who has won three of their five clashes – until a recurrence of the Italian’s oblique issues caused him to withdraw on tournament eve.
Instead, de Minaur suddenly had 113th-ranked McDonald in his path.
McDonald boasts none of the weapons required to unsettle de Minaur, although he tried to with an aggressive approach designed to keep points short. But the sixth seed quickly adjusted and had few issues progressing despite admitting afterwards that he was always “nervy” beginning his Open campaigns.
De Minaur, who turns 27 next month, was in fine form, highlighted by his typically elite court craft, including repeatedly chasing down McDonald’s half-volleys and drop shots to whip winners.
He faced just one break point – which he fended off with a strong first serve before clinching the opening set a couple of points later – hit more than double as many winners as McDonald (32-15) and lost only five first-serve points for the contest.
De Minaur’s increasing comfort with being one of the best players in the world was also evidenced in how he addressed the ongoing dispute between the players and grand slams on matters such as revenue share, welfare benefits and having a greater say via a new player council.
“It’s not about we’re demanding more and that we’re being greedy,” he said.
“They’re some of the things that potentially the media grasps on, and that’s their headlines, but it’s all about perspective. What we’re fighting for is to better our sport and ultimately for the players to be better compensated.
“We are incredibly well-compensated as of now, but when you look at the percentages and differences between other sports, then, of course, there is room to grow.”
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Marc McGowan is a sports reporter for The AgeConnect via X.