THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 7, 2025

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/A. de Minaur

1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Alex, tough one today, obviously. Can you just talk us through that match a little bit, please.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, it was a tough match. It's a shame that we're not still out there playing a fifth set. I felt like I put myself in a great position there and just feeling a little bit disappointed that, yeah, I didn't manage to win that fourth.

But overall, I thought it was a pretty good match with some very high level. Yeah, he came out on top.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Alex, there were obviously a lot of opportunities right through that match. When those opportunities crept up, do you think it was more a case of him lifting or you maybe not applying enough pressure? What would you say, especially like in the fourth set when you had the break?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think it was probably a combination. I think he definitely in the fourth set lifted his level big-time. From 4-1 I had a chance to break him and get the double break. Then I think he started going after it a little bit more and definitely raised his level, which yeah, completely changed the momentum.

Of course, I'm sitting here now a little frustrated that I let, you know, that set slip away. But, I mean, he's been pretty good in big moments for a very long time.

Q. What makes it so hard to play against Novak on grass? What does he do that makes it really awkward?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think it's probably a combination of his returning and his serving. I think today when he needed it, really raised his serving. Felt like he was breezing through games, and I wasn't really getting looks at second serves anymore.

Yeah, then you've got all the other aspects of his game. But his serving and returning, it's probably the biggest one.

Q. Can you take us into your mindset at the end of that first set. I think the crowd response was a bit of shock at what was taking place from Novak's end. At that stage of the match, were you like I've got a massive shot here? What was going on?

ALEX de MINAUR: No, not really. I mean, that first game in the second set I thought I got extremely unlucky to get broken. That was just a couple of shots that went his way, and all of a sudden I'm looking at, yeah, being a break down in the second without really doing anything wrong. So obviously that's the start of a momentum shift.

Even though the second set was still tight, again, in the bigger moments today I think my level dipped, and I didn't rise up to the occasion as I needed to if I wanted to beat someone as good as him.

Q. It might be difficult now. How do you think you'll reflect on this match, being so close, in a few weeks and I guess, more broadly, the tournament as a whole?

ALEX de MINAUR: It is a tough one. I'm looking right now at my grass season as a whole as a tad disappointing. But, again, I knew going into this tournament that there was a high chance I would be in a position like this, right?

I kind of didn't take care of business pre-Wimbledon to guarantee myself a top-8 seed and be somewhat protected until the quarters. I mean, here we are. I had to play Novak fourth round. It's not the best of draws. He's been pretty good here over the last couple of years.

How I view that match? Yeah, there's positives. At the moment where I am in my career, it doesn't completely fulfill me, these positives, right? I want more. I want to be on the other side of this match and finishing this match coming out on top because I think that's the next step in my career.

If I'm going to make the next step, these are the types of matches that need to start going my way. I just need to start catching a break to, yeah, take it to the next level.

Q. How do you think, Alex, what you did here and, you know, how you played will affect you? Or mixed with some of the emotions that you were struggling with six weeks ago and the last couple of weeks, is it the sort of thing that can sort of maybe shake you out of that -- I don't know what you call it -- malaise, burnout, anything like that? I know it might be too early to tell, but I'm sort of curious as to how you think you'll be feeling when you wake up tomorrow.

ALEX de MINAUR: I'm hoping that the little bit of time off before, a bit of time off after, I will put myself in a good position to finish the year strongly. I mean, that's the goal ultimately.

I can't tell you what the future holds. I just hope to put myself in a good position to perform because, again, the whole back end of the year I've got very little to defend, right? It's opportunity after opportunity for me. I'm just hoping that I'm ready to take them and I finish the year strongly because it will be, yeah, quite important for me in my career and if I want to make it to the year-end Masters.

Q. I'm sorry to ask about Hawk-Eye after a difficult defeat, but you've been on everything from 18 to Centre. I just wanted to know after yesterday's error, did you have faith with the system throughout your time in The Championships?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, look, it works on both. It's a machine. You play until the out call, and that's basically it.

I don't think there was many bad calls. Obviously there are so many close ones here and there. But again, I think if you are playing with line umpires, there's still the possibility of human error. Then it relies on the player to not only focus on trying to play the point out, but if a ball is close, they've got to make a split decision whether they're going to stop the point and forfeit the point potentially if they think it was out or play on, right? At least this way the player plays until the out call.

Q. You talked about how you're sick of losing these types of matches, but do you feel closer to winning one of these? If we go back over the years, the losses you've had at these stages, some have been more lopsided. The Rublev one was close. But against a player of Novak's caliber, to genuinely feel like you were out there and had a chance of winning it, does that feel like a step forward in your career?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I mean, I definitely need to look at this match with that mindset, right? That's the right thing to do, to tell myself, Hey, I was close, I probably should have been into a fifth set, and who knows what happens in that fifth set against Novak at Wimbledon and one of his best Grand Slams. I should be telling myself that.

But right now I'm just, yeah... I won't see that side of things. It's still too early, I'm sure. As the dust settles, I will be able to reflect on that, but now it's a little bit more about, yes, I lost to Novak, but I lost in the fourth round where I kind of was hoping for more this week.

Q. You did give a good contest today. I wonder, which aspects of your game today were you pleased with? Which bits do you think showed up in this very tough encounter?

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, I think from the back of the court I went toe-to-toe with one of the greats, right? I was definitely taking it to him and probably felt like I had the upper hand if we had indeed got into a rally.

I was moving the ball well. I was hurting him from the baseline and, yeah, gave myself plenty of opportunities and chances. I mean, the returning, I know I'm always going to give myself chances. I'm always going to put a lot of the pressure on my opponent, and I did that today.

What I need to improve on is the serve. The serve needs to get me out of trouble, needs to help me in big moments, needs to step up if I want to win these matches.