MUBADALA DC OPEN

July 30, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/C. Hewitt

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Alex, congrats. Obviously an opponent you're very familiar with. What did you expect going into the match versus what actually transpired out there today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, obviously I've known Cruz for the better part of ten years. We've hit with each other many, many times. So going into the match I felt like we both knew each other's games pretty well, so it made it kind of like an interesting battle of who was going to execute better.

I'm glad I managed the situation and the emotions well and I was able to kind of get off to a good start and, you know, get a win over someone who I'm sure I'm going to be playing a lot more.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. For someone who is as young as Cruz is, you can tell he's got tour-level power, especially on his groundstrokes. He kind of warmed into that late in the first and into the second. Then it seemed like you tried to threw in some drop shots, come to the net a little bit more. Was that part strategy on your part to counteract that?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, Cruz has got some serious firepower, right, and he's got the ability to play loose and play free like that and go for big shots from both sides. I think he's got that ability, which is a lot of talent.

I think that's what's kind of going to allow him to play against bigger hitters earlier in his career and have some success. I think, like everything, he's got areas to improve, which I'm sure he will. But, yeah, it was exactly that.

I started the match trying to be as solid as I could, tried to put as much pressure I could on him because I knew it probably wouldn't be easy starting the match playing free. He loosened up at the very end, and then it became a real battle.

I had to come out with some big serves in some key moments to get it over the line, and I'm happy I was able to execute.

Q. You said you've known him for about ten years. That puts him at 7 or 8 years old. Are there moments during the match where you suddenly look across, and you see the 7- or 8-year-old there, or walking onto the court, are there any memories of --

ALEX de MINAUR: To be honest, the last couple of days just as soon as kind of the matchup was announced or the potential of the matchup and seeing all kind of these photos, these old photos of us on social media, it really was pretty surreal just seeing all of that, how we've both grown up.

I think there's a photo of both of us at the Newcombe Medal both in suits when he must have been 8, 9, or 10 years old. Just to look back on those types of photos and then to look across the court today and see that I'm playing him, it's a pretty fun feeling.

I said, I probably wasn't ready to play him this week. I didn't expect that. I knew at some stage we were going to play each other. I wasn't expecting it this week, but I'm glad it happened. I'm looking forward to the next ones.

Q. Did you ever have to briefly watch him for Lleyton, any borderline baby-sitting moments with him?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, I've spent a lot of time with Cruz, and I think he's always been a great kid. He's loved tennis, and I can't say this enough, the way he's handling the spotlight, the pressure, the expectations of being who he is.

Even after a week like this one, right, there's going to be even more pressure and expectation, but I think the whole kind of world should let him develop at his own pace, right? It takes time.

He can definitely produce this extremely high level of tennis. I think the next part for him is to try to do it consistently week after week, which I'm sure he'll get to.

But, yeah, as I said, I've known him for years and years. We've played. I've stayed at Lleyton's house plenty of times. Yeah, we're very, very close, so it was a pretty cool moment.

Q. I just want to ask about your next match against Brandon Nakashima, who I think has won two of your three prior encounters. What has made him a tough opponent for you?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think he's a quality ball striker. We played last year here in Washington, and we played at Queen's earlier in the year, and I think he's definitely stepped up his game.

He's very comfortable in these conditions. I think this is where he plays some of his best tennis. He had a great win today against Jakub, and honestly I'm expecting a battle.

As I said before the tournament started, there's not a lot of expectations for me coming in, so every day I feel like I'm getting a little bit better, a little bit quicker, a little bit more comfortable on these courts. I'm hoping that I can lift to the occasion tomorrow because I'll definitely need to do that.

Q. Different topic. I was walking around and saw your face on the side of the merch tent here. You just had your "Vogue" wedding spread. You did the fashion thing in Madrid, I want to say. How are you enjoying being more a part of the fashion side of the equation this year? Does it feels like it's something you enjoy, you want to do more or less of?

ALEX de MINAUR: I think it's showing a little bit more personality, right? A lot of people will probably just know me as the version that they see on a tennis court. I try to be very calm-headed, not give a lot of emotion away, kind of keep my emotions to myself and maybe not show as much personality, but there's definitely a lot of personality that comes out off the court.

I guess I've enjoyed obviously the change into Wilson. I think it's been a pretty cool change. I'm loving the outfits, the kits. I think they're coming out with some pretty cool stuff and also showing that I don't always wear tennis clothes, right? I can also smarten up from time to time, whether it's for my own wedding or for just going out to dinner.

It's been fun just to show that and kind of a little bit more of my hobbies and interests. So, yeah, a different side of me.

Q. You mentioned yesterday when you spoke to us how you were just going to treat it as any other match. Number one, was that hard to do? Number two, you mentioned how you were pleased with how you managed your emotions. How were you able to manage them so well today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, look, it definitely wasn't easy, right, going into the match just, as I said, the lead-up, seeing all the photos, all the memories, thinking of all the time we spent together.

I couldn't help but ultimately be excited for it, right? I think that definitely helped me. As soon as the match came, I knew kind of my game plan. I knew what I had to try and execute and, ultimately, try and focus on my side of the court as much as I could, right, and treat it as any other match.

I did well. It's definitely not an easy one, and I'm sure it could have gotten a lot more difficult, but I'm sure that the following times that we play each other, it's only going to get harder and harder because we're both kind of used to that experience, that feeling.

Yeah, I'm just pleased with how I handled it today.

Q. Have you seen Cruz or Lleyton in the players lounge after? Did you have an interaction?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I saw them quickly in the gym. I just told them all that we didn't expect to be playing each other this week, right? I thought that it was definitely going to come at some stage, but I didn't expect it to happen so early.

I think all of us as a collective were kind of, like, didn't really know how to kind of act, right, because it's the first time we've been in that position.

Lleyton has been an incredible help over my whole career, and I'm glad to see him be there with Cruz. I think he's got a bright future ahead.

Q. I just want to ask about the work you still have ahead of you here. Given the postponement from your first-round match to yesterday, you're in a position where you could have five matches in five days. You have work to do to get there, but maybe I'm sure you've experienced that before. What is the challenge there? Does it help that you had a relatively efficient day at the office today? What are the thoughts of potentially five in five in these conditions?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, look, for me, it's basically just getting the body back into where it should be, right? It's taken a little bit of time off.

As I say, coming back wasn't easy. I'm still getting rid of some of the cobwebs, a couple of aches here and there, but every day I'm feeling a little bit better.

Ultimately, the more time on court, the more matches, I'm going to be building and I believe going to be feeling better. Ultimately, the goal is to peak for New York, and that's what the plan is. I'm hoping that every week I feel a little bit better every day, get that marginal fraction better, and just play loose, right?

I don't have those expectations. I'm trying to kind of leave that pressure behind. There's no need to play with that load on your shoulders. It's been working out so far, so I'm hoping that I can keep it going.