LAVER CUP

September 26, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Patrick Rafter

O2 Arena

Team World

Press Conference

A. de MINAUR/A. Zverev

2-6, 7-6, 11-9

Team Europe - 3

Team World - 5

THE MODERATOR: Hi, Pat. Hi, Alex. That was a great win today. Team World came in this morning trailing 3-1, but your match, alongside Learner's, has shifted the momentum and now you're leading.

How do you think the team environment helps you absorb that pressure and turn around a match like you did today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I think it was amazing to watch Learner just play a great match, put on a great show, and really kind of set the tone for us, for Team World.

He's an incredibly good kid and a great player, so it was a lot of fun watching him make his debut and of course set the tone. So far we've been having a pretty good day, so hopefully we can keep it going.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations, Alex. Tough first set. What was going through your mind, and what were you being told from the bench after that first set that you made such a transformation?

ALEX de MINAUR: What was going through my mind is that I was in a fair bit of strife, and it was looking quite bleak. I thought that Sascha came out of the blocks firing, and he was hitting the ball at a very high level with a lot of pace from both wings, and I was struggling to kind of find a lot of inroads.

I mean, the advice and the game plan was to kind of do my best to get stuck in there, try to change it up as much as I could. I managed to get a little bit more returns in play, change my return position, gave different looks, and slowly kind of crawled my way into the match. Yeah, and then took my opportunities when they presented it.

Q. I've got a question for Pat. Alcaraz and Zverev came into this tournament as the two kind of most high-profile players. How big a boost is it? Do you feel like it's a little bit of an extra boost maybe getting a win off one of them?

VICE CAPTAIN PATRICK RAFTER: Bloody hope it is. It's massive. I mean, the way he came out, he obviously showed that he was the No. 1 player or becoming No. 1 player in the world, and he wanted to just stick it to us, and how dare you beat us last year.

It's just not going to happen. He came out like that, and you just saw the fight of Alex. So, you know, that's what makes this event pretty cool, because the impact of the bench and playing for your teammates has a different type of feel to it, as well. He thrives on it. He does great in Davis Cup. This is similar in the way it goes.

But now you've got Alcaraz, as well. So you're playing the two best players in the world right now, and we've got ours guys just gonna bust their ass to get a result.

It goes a long way. Never underestimate how important that is.

Q. Patrick, whether it was you or Lleyton or back in the days of Newcombe and Rosewall and those guys, and now this guy sitting next to you, the Aussies have always been known for their love of the fight, especially in a team environment.

VICE CAPTAIN PATRICK RAFTER: All of them (smiling)?

Q. I just wonder if you could talk about that a little bit.

VICE CAPTAIN PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, it was always the Aussie way. A lot of times, I wouldn't call us the prettiest players, but we sort of found a way to get the job done and to fight no matter what.

We had a few disrupters amongst our team at times, which I haven't been a real big fan of, because keeping the type of culture that's built up over many years can get destroyed very quickly. And to see this kid come along, he's been there for now 10 years playing Davis Cup, we need that, going back to grassroots, this is a great example for the young kids coming through.

We've seen it here, seen it at Davis Cup, just his attitude, he's a great role model.

Q. A question for Alex. You've beaten Sascha twice in two years at the Laver Cup. What is it about the Laver Cup that brings out the best in you? And also, you've beaten him at the United Cup. And one more question is how is your leg?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, the leg is good (smiling).

Yeah, look, I think these types of events bring always a different energy in me. You know, here, the Laver Cup, it is a little bit different, because ultimately you've got to win a set and a super, right, and it's a lot more of a coin toss, I would say.

But I just thrive in these types of environments, right? I look forward to them every single year. The tennis tour is a long year, and whenever you get to play for a little bit more than just yourself, it brings the kind of extra energy.

I've always played really well representing my country, and I'm glad that I was able to put a good performance today as well.

Q. Alex, about fellow Australian Rod Laver, what does his legacy mean to you? Have you had much conversation with him and learnt anything about the tennis of his day?

ALEX de MINAUR: I mean, Rod was a trendsetter. What he's done for the sport is second to none for all of us Aussies growing up. You know, we understood what he did, what he did for the rest of us, for our whole culture.

I've been fortunate enough to have some pretty special moments with Rod over the years. He presented me my Davis Cup jacket when I made my debut, and that was a pretty special moment.

Just to see him still appreciate tennis and do so much for this sport still at his age is pretty special. I'm glad that this tournament is named after him, and hopefully we can keep it going for a long time.

Q. Alex, I just wanted to ask you about Zverev's ball bouncing, whether that was distracting at all? I noticed he took quite a long time to do the second serves. And also, there was a let call in the tiebreak, and I wanted to get your opinion on that.

ALEX de MINAUR: I mean, my opinion on the let call is it's a let call, right? The rules are the rules.

VICE CAPTAIN PATRICK RAFTER: Are you talking about the match point? That wasn't a let call, was it?

ALEX de MINAUR: No. So they called it a let call because the screen went...

So the rules are you've got to play two, but obviously I would have loved to play that point with a second serve instead of giving him another first serve. It was unfortunate, but I tried to do my best for it not to rattle me and kind of stay in the moment, and I managed to pick the right way, and it ended up working out. So happy days. If it hadn't worked out, then maybe I would have a different opinion on it.

Q. And the ball bouncing?

ALEX de MINAUR: Look, the ball bouncing is not something new. That's in his right. He can bounce the ball as many times as he wants. It's just the way it is, you know.