If Alex de Minaur was asked prior to the US Open if he would be satisfied with a quarter-final run, the answer likely would have been, ‘Yes’.
Though the 10th seed suffered a straight-sets defeat in the last eight Wednesday against Jack Draper, De Minaur leaves New York proud of what he has accomplished in his first tournament since suffering a hip injury at Wimbledon, where he withdrew prior to his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
“I'd rather try and think about what I was doing six, seven weeks ago and where I am now and try to focus on that, instead of dwelling on what just happened and me potentially having one of the bigger opportunities of my career and it just slipping away from my hands,” De Minaur said in his post-match press conference. “So I'm going to stick with the positives that I'm proud of myself.”
[ATP APP]Boasting a 40-13 season record, the Sydney native was aiming to become the first Australian man in the US Open semi-finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.
Despite showing signs of being hindered by injury, De Minaur did not blame his ailments after the loss.
“Sure, I wish I felt better. Let's just put it that way. It's tough. It's a big opportunity. It's a big chance,” De Minaur said. “I was expecting to feel better, I was trending in the right direction. And today was a little bit the opposite of that. But yeah, it's fine.
“I dealt with it after Wimbledon. I'll deal with it after here and I'll be back in no time, and hopefully sliding from side to side without a thought in my head.”
Competing in his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March, De Minaur entered the quarter-final with a perfect 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the 22-year-old Draper. But the lefty’s heavy-hitting fueled him to a breakthrough 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 win.
“I think Jack is never easy to play in the best of times and the way he can spread the court, being a lefty and really [able to] move you around the court, it takes a toll on the body,” De Minaur said.
“He's got weapons. He knows how to use those weapons effectively. He's yet to lose a set in this tournament, so he's got to be doing something right... He's got big weapons and he can hurt anyone.”
A four-time major quarter-finalist, De Minaur departs the season’s final Slam at eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He is aiming for his maiden trip to the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals.
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