When Alex de Minaur was back in Australia in January, there was a constant theme he kept returning when addressing his methodical rise towards the world’s top 10 players.
Incremental improvement was the name of the game. The phrase scarcely knocks your socks off. It does not have the shock and “phwoar” of a Carlos Alcaraz forehand or the “wham and bam” of a Nick Kyrgios serve, the type of weapons that can really blow your mind.
Part of the power of incremental improvement is that it invisible. It creeps up on you until, bang, you arrive in a hurry.
Reality hits. And the reality, according to current and former stars of the game, is that the Australian has become very, very good, as his results against the best attest.
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Demon rolls Medvedev to reach quarters | 01:57
“I think the other guys are gonna start thinking, ‘Whoa, like, what’s happening?’ That’s what I see with him,” seven-time grand slam champion Mats Wilander said in Paris.
“Everything is improving, it seems to me. He is taking the ball a little bit earlier and serving a little bit better and he is willing to come to the net a little bit more. Instead of maybe 20 percent net attacks, it is kind of 22 percent. You know what I mean.
“He’s actually stronger, too. You can see it in his legs. The legs are stronger every time I see him. So, yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a semis or a finals (in his future) and then, of course, you have to wonder … who does he play in the final of a slam?”
The path for de Minaur to reach his maiden grand slam final became easier on Tuesday when world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic withdrew with a knee injury.
But the Australian still has to beat elite players, beginning with No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEST) and, if successful, three-time major finalist Casper Ruud on Friday, to reach the final.
Former world No.6 Gilles Simon played de Minaur twice in the infancy of his career and then coached against him on Saturday as part of the camp behind Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion who was beaten in four sets by the Australian at Roland Garros.
“He’s the kind of player where you can’t see the improvement, the big change, because he’s already a very solid player,” Simon told foxsports.com.au.
“But it’s more that everything is a bit better, especially on the serve. I’m not sure the radar is always working good, but the radar is tough here and it could go to 216kmh to 218kmh sometimes, which he was not able to do before with a good consistency.
“So he has more free points on his serve. And it helps also when you have his game from the baseline with this huge intensity, you know, that he has on the game when he has some free points on serve. So the whole balance of the game is harder to beat.
“It’s not a massive change that we can see from the outside, because the game and the structure of the game is not changing drastically, but it’s just that everything is five percent better. And then when you are already 15 in the world and you do five percent better, then you can really be (among) the top players.”
THE TOUCH TO COMPLEMENT THE SPEED AND STRENGTH
Fabrice Santoro was known as “the magician” during a two-decade long career in which he peaked at a ranking of N0.17 and won two Australian Open doubles titles.
But when the French favourite stepped on to Court Suzanne Lenglen to interview de Minaur on Saturday, he worried for a moment whether some wizardry might be required, quipping he “was scared that Alex was going to start running because I can’t catch him”.
Santoro, who stood 177cm and played double-handed from both wings, regularly conceded height, weight and power to his rivals and needed to conjure different ways to trouble rivals.
An Australian Open quarterfinalist in 2006 and a true craftsman, Santoro spotted de Minaur when he was a teenager in Melbourne and has followed his career closely since then and notes that he exploits the angles of a court well with his movement and his shots.
Santoro loved the way de Minaur played the role of puppet master against Medvedev on Saturday, drawing him to the net with drop shots and then flipping lobs back over his head.
“I have followed Alex for many years, because I love this kind of player because he is quite slight physically,” he said.
“He understands the game very well. He reads the game. So he’s everywhere on the court. But I was not expecting him to be at this level at Roland Garros.
“All the finals he has played were on hardcourt or grass, all his titles on hard courts. Now he starts to be a great player on clay and even, when I did an interview, he was surprised, saying ‘I’m not supposed to be there’. But he deserves to be there.”
The rise of the Demon has come partly due to naturally filling out, though it is evident he has added weight to his frame in the gym, with the extra muscle strengthening his serve.
There is another factor at play as well according to Davis Cup teammate Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was courtside for the clash against Medvedev before heading to London to prepare for the grass season.
Kokkinakis, who has reached the 3rd Rd in Paris three times, is in awe of his mate’s work ethic and leadership at a time where there are nine Australians in the top 100.
“I don’t know too much about what goes on in the off-season and what he works with when he is with his coaches in private,” Kokkinakis told foxsports.com.au.
“But I have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with him in Davis Cup and one thing that is always there is his attitude and how he trains. It is the same as he plays. He goes for everything and he never takes a ball off. He is always super positive.
“I have played a lot of practice sets with him before Davis Cup and before big events – I played a practice set with him before Roland Garros – and I feel like if you are playing well and competitive and winning sets against, it is a very good barometer for how your game is.
“If he beats you, you know you have to really raise your level, and if you beat him, you know your game is in a good spot. It is about trying to channel that. He is one guy I always enjoy practising with because he always brings out the best in you.
“That is why the Davis Cup team loves having him around. Whenever he wins or loses, you know you are going to get the best effort every time, and that is all you can ask for.”
A GREAT IS CONVINCED DE MINAUR HAS MORE TO GIVE
Regardless of what happens against Zverev, the past and present professionals foxsports.com.au spoke to in Paris agree that de Minaur is yet to reach his ceiling.
The queries still come as to whether de Minaur has the weapons to challenge Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who will assume the No. 1 ranking on Monday and has dominated the Aussie so far, or dual-major winner Carlos Alcaraz, who he is also yet to beat.
But three-time Australian Open champion Wilander said the No. 11 seed, whose service speed has increased significantly, has the smarts to figure out other ways to win and that big weapons are only part of the game.
“Nor did Lleyton Hewitt (have weapons). Nor did I, to be honest, with the guys that I played with, so if you don’t have the weapons, then you have got to have this (heart), this (head) and these (balls),” he said when pointing to each during an interview at the Legends Hour on Monday.
“When you have those things, you are willing to change your tactics depending on who you’re playing, rather than today’s model, which is I’m going to play my game and not worry so much about the other person. That’s one way of playing tennis.
“But you could also play by only worrying about the other person and … if you’re consistent enough, if you’re going to run forever and if you’re humble enough to understand that you can’t outhit Boris Becker or Ivan Lendl, you’ve got to do something different. And I think de Minaur is learning now that he’s not hitting the ball hard enough, even though he’s trying to.
“I mean, you talk about people who are getting the most out of their game and you have to say that Alex de Minaur is getting the most out of his game, but I still think there’s more to give because he’s so fast.
“And if he learns how to be fast at the right time and the right ball – I mean, Alcaraz is fast, but he doesn’t really use it that much, he just uses it to retrieve and then he waits for the forehand – but de Minaur needs to use it to attack, which is kind of what Lleyton did for a time.”
Kokkinakis said a key to de Minaur’s rise is the fact he has kept his speed while becoming stronger.
“That is sometimes the worry when you add a little more strength and a little more bulk, that you can be a bit stiffer moving, but he has not had any sort of trouble, that is for sure,” he said.
The speed remains a critical strength, according to Simon. But he said the eight-time ATP Tour titleist is now starting points from a better position and using his speed to increase the pressure on his rivals.
“(His speed) is not the biggest improvement. Once again, he has had it from the start. It’s the basic strength of his game,” he said.
“Where he’s better is (that) he’s switching into attack mode more quickly, because he’s not what I would say is a defender. He is not a passive player that is just waiting for the opponent to miss. He is just someone who is trying to aggressive, but … he’s not that tall and he’s not that strong naturally, so he was not always on top of the point when we start the point.
“Most of the guys are tall, they serve fast, but with his stronger serve, that is why it’s a big improvement and a big change in his game. Before, when the serve was a bit weak, he was starting often in defence, which then he had to switch into offence, but he had to do that during the point.
“If he’s able to do it from the start, to put more pressure for the serve and with the return, and with this capacity that he has to switch from defence to offence, then he is a completely different player.”
CAN THE DEMON STRIKE GOLD ON THE RED CLAY OF ROLAND GARROS?
It is 27 years since Pat Rafter played in a Roland Garros semi-final and the drought for a finalist dates back to 1969 when Rod Laver defeated Ken Rosewall.
Having reached his second grand slam quarter-final in what has proven a breakthrough swing on European clay, de Minaur is now within reach of another milestone moment.
If he can defeat Zverev, who has played consecutive five set matches in Paris leading into Wednesday night’s clash, he will reach the last four of a major for the first time and face an opponent in Ruud he has never lost to.
Can de Minaur, who will re-enter the top 10 regardless of what unfolds against Zverev, win Roland Garros? Wilander is not sure, but the Swede has no doubt the right-hander will feature in a semi-final or grand slam final at some stage.
Santoro, too, believes top contenders including Sinner and Alcaraz are the players to beat.
“I don’t think so. But I could be wrong. There is only eight (left) and you don’t have to play the other seven. You play only three,” he said.
“So, no, I don’t think he will. But it’s a really fantastic to be there and he is going to play Zverev. (Is he) beatable? Why not? And there will be only four?”
The final word goes to Michael Chang, who aged 17 became the youngest man to win the French Open in 1989. There is no better time to strike than the present, the American said.
“I’ll tell you what, if he’s going to do it, now’s the time to do it,” Chang said.
“With so much rain that’s happened and the courts being as slow and the conditions being as heavy as they are, that I think helps him, because it helps him to track down a few more balls.
“The serves coming from some of these big servers aren’t quite as fast and … and I think he can use his speed to advantage.”