“I get a real sense of satisfaction proving people wrong” – De Minaur looking to defy critics in Toronto Masters final
Alex De Minaur explains what’s motivating him ahead of his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto this Sunday
Having wiped the floor with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Saturday’s semi-final at the Toronto Masters, Alex De Minaur has revealed his motivation ahead of Sunday’s final against either Jannik Sinner or Tommy Paul.
Speaking to the media after his match, the player nicknamed “The Demon”, flashed his dark side, explaining how he’s strongly motivated by proving his haters wrong:
“[I’m] looking to prove a lot of the people wrong,” the world No 18 declared.
De Minaur motivated by lack of belief ahead of Toronto final
The 24-year-old went on to explain how others not believing in him is something that drives him to perform.
“That’s probably the biggest thing for me,” said De Minaur.
“You know, I take a lot of pride in what I do. And, you know, a lot of people don’t have a lot of belief in me, but I get a real sense of satisfaction proving people wrong.”
So far, the Australian has certainly proved his critics wrong, going on a run to the Los Cabos final last week, and now making his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto this week.
“It’s been a great mindset from day one” – De Minaur unpacks his success in Toronto
Alex De Minaur went on to explain why he believes he’s had success on the hard courts of Toronto this week, crediting his run to the final to a positive mindset.
“I think it’s been a great mindset from day one,” De Minaur said. “I had a very quick turnaround from Los Cabos. And again, I just told myself that I was going to compete.”
“The first couple rounds, I didn’t play my best tennis. Just things weren’t clicking. I couldn’t really feel the ball in the strings.
“I just told myself to keep going at it. If I kept on giving myself chances, that there’s always a better chance that the next day I was going to play better tennis and find a better level, and that’s what I’ve been doing.
“So it’s been great. Didn’t start amazing this week, but I’ve been able to find a very high level throughout the later stages of the week.”
Across the past five days, De Minaur has managed to take down 11th seed Cameron Norrie, Canadian wildcard Gabriel Diallo, world No 9 Taylor Fritz, and world No 3 Daniil Medvedev, ahead of his win in the semi-finals against Davidovich Fokina.