AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/M. McDonald

6-2, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Alex. Very solid performance today. How does it feel to get the first-round win under your belt?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, it feels great to get started here at the Australian Open. Happy with the performance. It's never easy first match coming in.

You know, it was a tricky opponent, and I navigated my way through and did what I needed to do. Yeah, overall happy with the performance and ready for the next challenge.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You spoke on court about how it's always nervy starting an Australian Open. Do you go through fears, doubts? What's going through your mind about first-round matches?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, look, I mean, the thing about the slams, the Australian Open, in particular, is I feel like even the draw, it comes out a lot earlier than other tournaments. And then any other tournament that's not a Grand Slam, you go about your business. The draw comes out. Oh, you gotta play whoever you gotta play, and that's it, right?

In a Grand Slam the draw comes out, and then you've got a couple days' worth of media talking about the full-on draw, right? For someone like myself that doesn't look at the draw and doesn't like knowing the draw, these are the things that you have to navigate and get used to, right?

Over the years, I've gotten used to it, I know how to handle it, but still, it just adds extra elements to the start of a tournament. Also saying that, I just needed to kind of recenter myself a little bit and remind myself of all the things I have been doing right and how well I have been hitting the ball, how confident I am on the court.

Once, you know, you kind of get started, those juices are flowing, then it's all happy days from there.

Q. I think Wally let it slip, didn't he? Rolled it all out, what your whole projected draw is?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, when he asked me if I knew my draw, I only knew the first round. I didn't know the rest of the draw, but I definitely knew after that (smiling).

Q. How are conditions out there? You mentioned on court a bit hot, got a bit more oomph on your serve. How did the serve feel today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think it's ultimately in Melbourne, if you have a hot day and you're playing during the day, it is very quick conditions, right? The ball flies through the air. It's very, very lively.

Yeah, I mean, everyone's always said it, it's two different tournaments, whether you play during the day or during the night. The conditions vary very much, and it becomes different playing styles.

Obviously it is a lot harder to hit a winner at nighttime. It's heavier conditions. The ball is a little bit slower, but, you know, today it felt great. It was a weird match, because there wasn't really a lot of rhythm.

I thought Mackie's game plan was exactly that, to kind of play very aggressive and not really want to get into too many rallies. So, saying that, I kind of had to find my rhythm a little bit on serve and maybe take a little bit of pace off just to try and make a bit more first serves, because he was having a crack at my second serve.

But, yeah, overall happy, and we move on.

Q. Can you tell us a bit more? On court you mentioned just trying to enjoy the journey that you're on. I guess you're talking about your life journey kind of thing. Can you tell us, have you previously been a bit too caught up in the wins and losses and maybe not appreciating the lifestyle and that kind of thing?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have always said that I think one of the biggest reasons that I have achieved everything that I have achieved is how tough I am on myself, right, and I have constantly been pushing myself for more and to achieve kind of that next milestone and next moment.

What happens with that as well is that throughout the journey, I don't really reward myself too much or too often. You go through the whole process, and you kind of forget where you came from and how pumped that little kid who 7, 8 years old and dreaming of getting into the top 10, would be with the position that I am right now.

So over the years, I have tried to do my best to take a step back every now and again, give myself a pat on the back, and enjoy the moment. Obviously that's in terms of kind of my tennis career, but as soon as I'm off the court, there is a big focus of just enjoying my life off the court.

You know, I've got an incredible fiancee who I'm very excited to be married to at the end of this year. I've got an amazing support system around me, my team, family, friends. So it's about doing my best to enjoy more time with them.

Q. Do you expect players, including yourself, to ramp up pressure on Tennis Australia if demands around more prize money aren't met?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, there is obviously a lot of these discussions. It ultimately comes down to perspective, right? It's not about headlines. It's not about we're demanding more and that we're being greedy, right?

That's some of the things that potentially the media grasps on, and that's their headlines, but it's all about perspective. What we're fighting for is to better our sport and ultimately for the players to be better compensated.

Saying this, we are incredibly well-compensated as of right now, but when you look at the percentages and the differences between other sports, then of course there is room to grow.

I think that's what we're trying to get to ultimately, to a point where we're all helping each other grow this beautiful sport. We have seen it grow over the years immensely.

Ultimately, I think it's going to be for the best for both the players and the tours and everyone in this sport if we all sit down in a room and we kind of find ways to keep on improving and we keep the communication going. That's basically all.

Q. When you're playing in hot and blustery conditions like today, how important, if at all, is nutrition to your importance? Is food fuel, or do you eat and drink what you want at a Grand Slam?

ALEX de MINAUR: No, it's extremely important. When we're talking about such physical conditions and hot conditions, it is essential, right?

In terms of nutrition, hydration, I started already on electrolytes last night. Midway through the afternoon, I was drinking as much as I could. I made sure I had a good dinner last night. This morning was good breakfast, make sure I had some plain pasta before I went in.

As the match goes on, I've got bananas, bars, snacks, as the match goes on. Ultimately the biggest thing is to not have a drop in energy, and you need your body to be going on for three, four, even five hours. So you need to be ready.

Hydration and nutrition is key, especially in five-set matches here.

Q. Obviously you're a player who likes to be taking the ball early, on top of the baseline. Could you explain it in your words the importance of court positioning and what it takes to actually take the ball early and not to move back far behind the baseline?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think that's been one of my attributes, right? Ultimately my ball-striking ability or the natural shape or shot that I have on both of my groundstrokes, it's on the flatter side, right? So it means that the ball kind of skids through when it hits the court.

I have always felt that I have been able to use my speed to retrieve and pay defensive, but one of the biggest things that has helped me take that next step is use my speed to take time away from my opponents, right, and that's where court positioning is super important.

If the ball is coming back to your opponent quicker and quicker, it's not really allowing him to think most of the time. So that's why I think it's so effective for me when the rallies kind of start going and we're going side to side and the ball is coming back quick and flat, it's not that easy to, you know, keep being aggressive even, right, to the point that it's going to get to a point where I'm going to get the short ball, and then I'm going to be able to dictate.

It's much harder than if I'm a couple meters behind the baseline, and then my ball is slow and loopy and my opponent has all the time in the world to generate and hit winners past me, especially in the way the guys are hitting the ball nowadays. When they've got time, they are crunching the ball. So I'm doing my best not to give my opponents time.

Q. So much gets made, as in the past, about the stage of Grand Slams that you get to. Previously it was the fourth round. Now it's quarterfinals. I'm curious about how you rate a successful Grand Slam these days. Is it pushing on and going further? I think back to last year's Wimbledon and how disappointed you were after that. Is it purely the stage you're getting to now? Do you have another way of gauging what a success it is at these events?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, I think the way I'm feeling at the moment is that I've gotten to a stage where I'm not just another number in this draw, right? I'm playing to win it and be one of those guys in contention. So ultimately, that's the goal, right?

I'm going to do my best, and it's not about being satisfied if I make a second week, if I make a quarterfinals, a semis. There is no real kind of stage. It's just going to be having that mindset of, okay, I'm going for this, and it's going to take one step at a time.

But I'm not just making up the numbers now. It's about me taking that next step and believing in my abilities, and that's going to be the only thing that's going to allow me to ultimately take that next step.