CHINA OPEN

October 5, 2026

Alex De Minaur

Mixed Zone

A. de MINAUR/H. Hurkacz

6-4, 3-2 (ret.)

Q. Alex, not the way you wanted to win, but played a fantastic match. Talk about your level today.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, as you said, first thing is hoping for Hubie's speedy recovery. He's one of the nicest guys on tour. Wishing him nothing but the best. Hopefully something minor and he can be back for Shanghai.

As for myself, yeah, I started on fire today. It was a pretty good feeling. Most of my matches I've been on the receiving end of that, so it felt good to kind of start a match where I was playing on my terms and playing some great tennis. Especially being able to get on his serve from the get-go, which is one of his biggest weapons.

All in all, very pleased with what I could do on my side of the court.

Q. 4-Love, 5-2, I thought the set was done. I missed what actually happened there.

ALEX de MINAUR: He just played a game where he just swung away, right? I think he felt being a couple breaks down that he could use kind of that game to kind of swing freely. That's what kind of happened.

I still had some game points. It was a long game. Kind of ended up going his way. Then he held 5-4, and I served it out.

Yeah, the start was great. Obviously he felt like he needed to go for all-or-nothing shots. That made it a little bit tougher because he was actually making them.

But I'm glad how I held my nerve, stayed focused and did what I needed to do today.

Q. This year is the 20th year of the China Open. Can you tell me some memories about the China Open.

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, I've got the memories of me playing here. Hasn't been too many. This is my third year.

I remember playing three or four years ago Andy Murray in the first round, Medvedev in the second round, which I lost. Then playing the last couple years.

I've had some great memories in the city. We've enjoyed doing a little bit of sightseeing.

Yeah, all in all Beijing has treated me well. I'm hoping I can even do one better tomorrow.

Q. In terms of the last couple weeks, the results you've been able to pick up, how different do you feel confidence-wise, physically, compared to two months ago?

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I said it straight after US Open. I needed a little bit of kind of a spark. The Davis Cup weeks, the training week there, the Davis Cup, the Laver Cup, were exactly what I needed.

I needed something different. A little bit of a team atmosphere, team chemistry, which I was able to use to kind of have a little reset and really kind of get back in the groove of things, doing what I know I can do. It's ultimately getting back to what I can do, right?

The tennis never went away. It was more mental than anything else. So I knew that as soon as I brought that energy and that spark back, then the tennis would come back.

I'm glad that I'm doing the right things and focusing on the right stuff, playing the tennis that I know I can.

Q. Djokovic or Medvedev next. Did you see the match of Djokovic with Zverev yesterday? Are you surprised the level Novak is still able to bring at this age?

ALEX de MINAUR: It's been a long time since I've been surprised by what Novak can bring to the court, right? We as tennis players have seen what he's been able to do for basically his whole career. It is amazing to watch.

Yesterday was just another one of those matches where he played at an extremely high level. It was great to watch as a fan of the sport. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Ultimately that's what tennis wants, right? We want everyone at their best.

Yesterday Novak played an incredible match. I'm very excited to watch the match today between him and Daniil. I think it should be a great one.

Q. Look ahead separately to whoever you might play, first Novak and then Daniil.

ALEX de MINAUR: Yeah, I mean, both players I've played. We've played each other. We know kind of what to expect a little bit.

Daniil, we've had plenty of battles on different surfaces. He's back to playing some really good tennis and is in a good head space.

I think probably out of the two, Daniil will be probably the more solid one in terms of maybe not playing as much offensive tennis when we play each other.

Novak, he's got the ability to change directions so easily. When he's on, his top level is very hard to beat. Doesn't really have too many holes.

All in all, both matches are going to be very, very tough. That's what I'm here for. I'm excited for it. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm playing for the title tomorrow. Yeah, it's exciting times ahead.

Q. You started out red hot today. In your past couple matches you haven't started as hot. Was there a different mentality or strategy that went into today?

ALEX de MINAUR: Well, before I start every match, I kind of tell myself, All right, let's have a good start here. It doesn't always happen as I would like (smiling).

Today it just felt good, right? The fact that I was able to kind of get on top of his serve early, just return to the baseline off his first serves, kind of just really shows that I'm on it.

Sometimes it kind of clicks. Today was one of those days that it clicked. It felt like every kind of decision I was making was the right one. The places I was going on returns was the right one. I committed to my shots, right?

If I could guarantee to start like that every single match, trust me, I would sign on the dotted line.

The aim is to kind of bring that level of intensity and focus. Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow.