UNITED CUP

January 3, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Team Australia

Press Conference

C. RUUD/A. De Minaur

6-3, 6-3

Team Australia - 1

Team Norway - 1

THE MODERATOR: Tough luck, Alex. Just sum up your performance tonight.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think I had a little bit of a slow start, but I think Casper played a very good match today from the beginning to the end.

I had some chances in break points, but he served really well throughout the whole match. Yeah, didn't really give me too many chances or opportunities. So I think it was a well-deserved win for him today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Alex, there was an uncharacteristic eight double faults. Can you pinpoint a reason for it? With Casper, did it feel different playing him this time?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think, as you said, it's not really part of my DNA to throw in so many double faults. I think today more than anything was just getting used to the conditions.

I struggled a little bit playing at night. A little bit heavier. It felt like, yeah, I wasn't able to get that feeling on my serve of kicking it in, which again, in the past I've had no problem doing.

I know he's got to stand far back, and he's going to look to try to hit a heavy ball and start into the rally, but I'm not necessarily -- I'm all right with starting the point like that. It just lost a little bit of rhythm more than anything.

I think Casper came out today playing super aggressive, right? He executed that game plan, which again, sometimes he's just going to stay too good. It's probably not the way he normally plays. He normally likes to stay in rallies a little bit longer.

Today he was going for all his shots, and they were landing in. He deserved to win.

Q. Alex, what did you make of Storm's performance today, and how important was it for her to get that win?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, Storm was great. She was unbelievable, as she so often is representing her country. So we love Storm. She is amazing to have on the team. We're all hoping that she can carry Australia through this tie.

Q. Just on your performance, you've spoken about changing things up. What can you take out of the performance, because the slice backhand today, that can be a real weapon going forward. Was there anything else that maybe caught your eye?

ALEX de MINAUR: At the end of the day, it's not life or death. I mean, it's the first match of the year. I've had numerous times where I've come out and I've lost the first match of the United Cup and then come out and found my tennis straight away.

I think more than anything today -- you know, I've been practicing and playing great all week. It was just that I came up with a really good opponent who not only played great, but I think served unbelievable.

I don't know what the actual percentage ended up being at the end of the match, but I just know that all the chances I had, he came up with big serves. I think if I get one of those breaks, then we're probably looking at a different match. Hey, the points didn't go my side today, and we move on and look forward to the next match.

Q. Is there a consideration for you to play mixed doubles tonight, or did you want to play? Also, just how is the health of the team in general? Because it seems that Maya and Maddy are both down with illness?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I love to play mixed. Of course, it's a difficult decision always for me, I find, because ultimately as much as I love to play, I don't really play it often. So I need to find that balance whether of me wanting to play and whether I think I'm going to add value to the team.

Of course, I always feel like if I go out there, I'll add value, but I don't know. I felt like maybe today after losing in my singles, it probably isn't the best look if I put myself out there.

Yeah, as I think it's always an opportunity, but we've got a lot of options. Not only with myself. We've got Kubs as well, right? We've got a vast array of options for the mixed doubles.

As of the health of the team, yeah, it's not great, but we're going to do our best to hang in there and not have more players fall with sickness.

Q. In the first match of the season how did you find I guess the mental challenge facing Casper? Did you find it was hard to I guess find the right mindset today?

ALEX de MINAUR: I think overall I was in a good mindset, and even after the match, I'm able to process this match correctly.

I gave him credit, because he deserves it. He played a really good match. Of course, there's a couple of things that I can do better, but also understanding that it is the first match of the year.

He is a very good, high-quality opponent. I'm going to do my best to tweak those couple of things and hopefully for the next match be ready and be able to get a win for my team.

Yeah, ultimately the season is back on. So hopefully I can flick that switch and, more than anything, execute in those important moments.

Q. Were you surprise that Casper is not playing the mixed? Do you think the format makes it too tough for singles players to back up and play mixed after their singles match?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, of course, I was surprised, because I feel like he's played almost every mixed doubles. Look, it is tough.

I'm not too sure about the schedule, but he was telling me they play soon, so he's probably looking at his body to recover and make sure he's ready for the singles and not compromise that.

Yeah, I mean, he did a pretty good job out there on the singles court today, so maybe he doesn't want to play any more tennis for the day.