THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/A. Mannarino

6-3, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Alex, well done today. Could you just share some initial thoughts about the match.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I'm very happy with a very clean performance today. I think going in, it was a very tricky matchup, and I kind of did what I needed to do.

It was, you know, some tough moments here and there, but I thought my serve got me out of trouble in certain key moments.

Yeah, I'm happy to be through and ready for the next one.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. That first serve seemed to be massive for you today. Have you tweaked anything or just hitting it well at the moment?

ALEX de MINAUR: I think it was an interesting one today, because I think Adrian is one of the better returners on tour, right? He applies so much pressure on every one of your service games.

Part of the game plan early on was to try to have a high percentage of first serve and maybe take a little bit of pace off, try to jam it into the body a little bit. You know, it just wasn't really working.

I kind of was missing a lot of first serves without any pace, and then, funnily enough, in a couple big moments where I just went for my serves and started to drop a little bit more of heat, I ended up serving better, right?

Today I went after my serves, and it was big.

Q. You were in the 40s at one point in the first set and you finished about 60.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, exactly that. Especially when I was trying to serve percentages and I was missing them, right? So that's frustrating in itself, because I'm not looking to hit aces or anything like that. I'm looking to make first serves.

Because he was applying a lot of pressure on my second serve, and at the end, I decided to just go for the first serve. I started serving from, like, 120s to 130s and started getting free points. Got confident. And it was something I needed to get out of some tough games.

Q. Considering the way you have played over the last couple of months and the frustrations you have been through, would you figure that that was one of the best matches you have played in the last couple of months?

ALEX de MINAUR: I think it was a clean performance. I think today, and especially against someone like Adrian, I don't think I'm ever going to feel amazing on the court, because we both make each other feel uncomfortable, right? We're both having awkward rallies. The ball is always underneath the net, very flat shots, a little bit of wind.

I'm proud of how I handled adversity today, some tough moments and getting through that. I think I've got more to give, but definitely I like, you know, the mindset I'm in, what I have been doing the last couple of days.

And I know that if I want to give myself an opportunity to go deep, that's going to be crucial, because the tennis is there. It's the mental side of things that need to partner myself in these moments. That's going to be key going forward.

Q. A junior tennis player always wants to have a deal with a racquet brand or market brand, but the sign of contemporary tennis or modern tennis is putting the watch on before the on-court interview or playing with the watch on. It's been your case this year. It's also a passion of yours. Could you go through that?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I have been passionate about watches and classic cars for a while. I feel like in a world where everything is going digital and modern, it is quite cool and unique to have something classical, right?

Where I see the similarities in watches and especially classic cars is the mechanical and engineering aspect of it, and that's something that kind of fascinates me. I have always kind of been into my watches, and now I'm very happy to be a partner with Gerald Charles. There is some exciting things coming with them, which I'm looking forward to.

Q. You're going to hate me for this question, but this is what the media do. Ben Shelton is out of the tournament, and you probably don't know this, but he was your projected quarterfinal opponent. You talked in Paris about you had a massive opportunity. Does it feel again you have a huge opportunity here?

ALEX de MINAUR: I mean, the way I look at it is I'm in the third round, right? I want to go deep, of course. I want to give myself that opportunity. But sadly, as much as I would love to just jump a couple steps and put myself already in that Sunday match, there's lots of matches and lots of tough moments that I've got to get through, right?

So the way I really look at it is, yeah, I only got told who I was playing in the next round at the end of my match. I will see how they go today. If I play Kamil, I played him recently, so I will be looking to hopefully get my revenge on him. He's been playing some great tennis, being very confident.

So I learnt a couple of things from the match we played. If I play Svajda, it's going to be the first time we play each other. So again, anything can happen.

But the same way, we see, right. Seeds lose. Upsets happen. This sport is unpredictable. It's not straightforward, so whether you're ranked higher than your opponent, it really means nothing when you go into the match. You both start the same. It's just another match.

Q. You said yourself, slightly nervous starting the first round. Better today. More to come. Is it the occasion in a two-week tournament to try to constantly pace yourself to peak at the right moments? No one is going to play brilliant tennis for two weeks. Is it a case of just trying to make sure it's there when you need it as you go deeper? How do you do that?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, one of the things I have learned in early stages of my career, I was a little bit too tough on myself, wanting to start these tournaments at the highest level possible. And often I would just get frustrated and let kind of negative feelings kind of not allow me to get through some tough moments, right?

What I have learned is ultimately the first week is all about trying to survive and advance, right? It doesn't matter how you do it, whether it's pretty, whether it's ugly, whether you play your best match or your worst match. As long as you get through, you give yourself a chance.

And I feel like once the first week finishes, that second week is a little bit of a reset, and then it's, like, okay, now you've got to kind of shift the mindset, and now you're playing to kind of go deep, right, or win the tournament, right. That's, I guess, the two mindsets.

The first week, it's surviving and finding ways, digging deep, no matter what is thrown at you. And then the second week is where you can enjoy yourself a little bit more.

Q. As much mental as physical?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, for sure.

Q. Getting back to watches and cars, the MINI Cooper is your pride and joy. What about your watch collection? Is there a particular one that is an absolute favorite? How many have you built up to now? You mentioned "exciting news." What's that?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, look, I think in terms of watches, I've always been, pretty similar to cars, I have always been interested in unique pieces or cars. I don't normally go to what everyone else likes. I like my own passions. I like seeing things that are different.

Whenever I got into watches, I went down the deep dive, and I didn't want to go straight into the popular brands that everyone owns, which I still find pretty cool, but I wanted to go more into a couple of, you know, the important brands in the watch world. So I got a couple pieces here and there.

I wouldn't say I've got the biggest collection. I think that is something that once I'm done with tennis, I will have a little bit more time to kind of spend on that, and I feel like I've got a little bit of that collector gene, but as of right now, I'm trying to stay focused, try to win matches, I've got bills to pay, you know. I can't afford to think about my next toy.

Q. So there is no favorite?

ALEX de MINAUR: I love them all equally (smiling).