THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2025

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/A. Holmgren

6-4, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Alex, could you just talk a little bit about today's match.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah. Very happy with that performance against a very tricky opponent, who was playing with a lot of confidence. Yeah, I managed to stay tough.

It was a great win, so very happy to be in the second week again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I want to ask about your opponent today. He had obviously a crazy run here and never played a Grand Slam match before. What do you think of his run and of his level today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I completely understand the run. I mean, the level he showed not just today, the whole week, he's an extremely dangerous player. He's got an unbelievable serve, a great forehand. He takes the racquet out of your hand, and when he's playing with a lot of confidence, it makes a very tricky opponent.

For me today I had to bring some of my best tennis to get through, and especially in those tough moments. Yeah, he deserves a lot of credit. He's had a hell of a tournament, and I hope he builds from this and brings this level, you know, week in, week out.

Q. I know injuries are part of sports, but I don't think I'll forget the look on your face at the end of your match last year when you just got through and you realized something serious was up. You were in a great position in the draw to take on Novak, and you didn't get that chance. I just wonder how you reflect on that and now the fact that you are here again with another chance.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, it's funny. It's funny how life works. You know, here we are a year later, and I'm going to more likely than not get that matchup. It is a round earlier.

But still, it was a brutal time for me last year having to deal with all of those emotions. But here we are a year later feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again. So I'm excited for that.

Q. When did you realize that Novak was in your draw? Can you give us an insight into what it's like, especially on the Grand Slam stage, coming up against someone like that.

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, to be completely fair, I don't look at the draw whatsoever. The only way I'm going to know who I'm playing is through media basically.

I hadn't really heard about my draw until maybe two days ago where there was a slight comment about Novak could potentially be in your section. I kind of assumed that it was my next-round opponent.

But realistically, it's not something that -- if it was up to me, I would have found out just as I finished my match, as I'm cooling down on the bike, and I ask my team, All right, who's next?

It's exciting. These are the matches you want to be playing in. You don't want to go through a draw or a Grand Slam and feel like everything has been handed to you. You ultimately want to be beating the best players, and that's my focus.

Q. Just wondering, during a match how much do you listen to the crowd? How much does that give you motivation? You say this is your second home slam. How much do you listen to the crowd or do you try to focus on your match completely?

ALEX de MINAUR: I really do like to engage with the crowd. I like to single out certain people in the crowd that's giving me support. They're out there sitting through a long five-set match giving me support. I feel like it's my duty to give them back the energy they're giving me, right?

They fire me up; I fire them up. It creates a good atmosphere. Yeah, I definitely use it when I'm on the court. I really like to lock in with a lot of different people in the crowd. I've got obviously my team, but then I'll lock in with strangers who I don't know, but they're supporting me, so I'll give them a couple "Come ons" here and there.

Q. Is this the first time on -- well, likely to be on Centre since Rafa. Have you played on Centre aside from that? What does that present for you?

ALEX de MINAUR: I think I actually played -- did I play Liam Broady on Centre? I think I did.

Playing on Centre is the goal ultimately. That's the way I kind of look at it as if I'm playing matches on Centre Court is I'm doing something right. Whether it's on my merit or I'm getting to the deep end of tournaments, but I always have it as a good sign. That's the biggest stage, so that's where you want to be competing and playing some of your best tennis.

Q. Expecting it to be Centre Court -- it would be strange if it's not -- how do you prepare for a match on a court like that, and is it any different when you prepare for a match against Djokovic to anybody else?

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, the way I look at it is you definitely -- the whole goal is to prepare matches exactly the same way, whether you're playing first round or fourth round or regardless of the opponent. That's kind of the mindset and focus that I'm going to be having.

Obviously I know what to expect from him. So it's not going to be something where I'm on the court, and you know, he hits some good shots, and I'm going to be like, Oh, where did that come from? I know what he's capable of. So that will be in the back of my mind.

Yeah, I'm expecting him to bring some of his best tennis, as he so often does in Grand Slams. So I see it as a challenge, and that's what I want. These are the matches I want to be playing.

Q. Is it any different being on the most famous court in the world where you can't really go and have a warmup session beforehand or anything?

ALEX de MINAUR: I played on basically every court now in my career, so they're experiences that I can draw from. It's not early stages in my career. I feel like I'm somewhat of a veteran when it comes to being around the tour.

I've played on a lot of these courts, and I've played a lot of these top players in big moments. I've played Novak obviously on Rod Laver at home.

Yeah, I can draw from previous experiences, so I won't let the fact that I'm playing on Centre Court affect me. In fact, I see it as exciting.

Yeah, I'm ready for the challenge.

Q. You had this extraordinary 12 months where you've had ups and downs. Are you better prepared now than you would have been, say, 12 months ago to face Novak?

ALEX de MINAUR: That's a good question. I think there's definitely two versions of myself. Last year was a version of myself which was very confident and ready to kind of take on the world. Yeah, I just kind of got stopped in my tracks.

I would say the version that I am right now is a lot wiser, and I've lived through a lot more experiences. I've played a lot more big matches. I think I'm more prepared mentally going into this next match. Whilst maybe my level last year was very high, and it was kind of quite dangerous, I feel like this year mentally I'm in a really good place. I'm hoping that the game, the tennis, is going to come along.

Q. What have been your observations of Novak Djokovic from the time he passed those other guys until today, and what does it make you think about the way he's done it?

ALEX de MINAUR: I mean, yeah, Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more, right?

He's a player that can find motivation and fire from anything, and that's extremely dangerous. You kind of don't want to give him something to, yeah, get motivated about because then you'll definitely see his absolute best side.

Q. Can I get you to reflect on the three previous meetings with Novak? Can you go back to that Australian Open where Novak was basically at the peak of his powers and had a very dominant display. Then there was that United Cup result, which was in between that period where you beat a lot of top-10 players and really emerged. Then, finally, that really competitive run in Monte Carlo on clay.

ALEX de MINAUR: I think a big contrast of matches. Obviously that first one we played was a whitewash. He was way too good, and I had no answers for him.

Then for me in my career it was an incredible moment to be able to overcome that previous result and actually finish out on top, so that was a huge stepping stone in my career and my confidence levels because, yeah, the feeling I had after that first time we played wasn't great, and I was able to overcome that.

I think the last time we played, I wouldn't classify it as the best match we've played. I think it was quite scrappy from both of us. It wasn't our best level. He kind of ended up on top, but I wouldn't say that he played great or I played great. It was just kind of a little bit of a scrappy match.

Now I'm getting to play him on one of his, if not his favorite surfaces and his favorite tournament. So it's going to be the ultimate challenge, and I'm excited for it.