De Minaur: “I probably wouldn’t be the player I am right now if I hadn’t spent all that time in Spain”
The 24-year-old said he has enjoyed the best of both worlds between Spain and Australia
At the end of Alex de Minaur’s impressive win over Matteo Arnaldi at the Australian Open on Wednesday, he did the customary winner’s interview on court, this time with Jim Courier, probably the best in the business.
Courier does his research more than most and the former world No 1 showed De Minaur and everyone in Rod Laver Arena a couple of photos of the Australian alongside his beloved Mini, in Spain.
“Look at that,” he said, gushing with joy. “That’s just beautiful, isn’t it? That’s my 1973 Mini. It just turned 50 years old, last December. We had a big party for it. That’s my daily drive right there.
“The whole fun of it is not knowing it it’s going to start every morning, I’ve enjoyed being stuck in the middle of the road a couple of times but it’s still my baby, and I love it.”
The photos of De Minaur and his car were taken in Spain, where De Minaur spends half of his year. Born in Sydney to a Spanish mother and Uruguayan father, he moved to Spain when he was five and stayed there until he was 13. He moved back with his family to Australia then and now spends half of his time in Europe. In Alicante, to be exact.
spanish connection a crucial element for de minaur
De Minaur is hugely proud to play for Australia and whenever he wears his country’s shirt, he leads by example. But his Spanish side has also been integral in making him who he is. Having just broken into the world’s top 10, he is Australia’s big hope for a first home men’s champion since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Softly spoken, thoughtful and polite, De Minaur says he learned a lot from growing up in two different countries. If he doesn’t quite play tennis like a typical Spanish pro – he hits the ball flat and relies on his speed rather than hitting with heavy topspin – he does incorporate some of the Spanish way of thinking. Mentally he’s very strong and he’s patient, too.
“I think I did learn a lot from living in two different places, and in a way it forced me to grow up a lot quicker and kind of be independent at a very young age,” he said, in an interview just before the start of the Australian Open, a day when he happily switched from English to Spanish for a TV interview.
“I think long term it helped me mature and realise what the important things are and what I wanted to achieve in my life and in my career. I would say that it was a big part. And I think it was a very important part because I got to get two different lifestyles, two different playing styles and kind of mould myself into the person that I am right now.
“I do think I probably wouldn’t have been the player I am right now if I hadn’t spent all that time in Spain.”
australian upbringing provides hewitt connection
That’s not to denigrate Australia or the role it’s played in his upbringing and development. If he had not lived in Australia, he would not have been mentored by Lleyton Hewitt, the former world No 1, in whose style he seems to have been moulded.
Speaking to the media at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, he elaborated on what he feels each of his countries have given him.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have both cultures growing up, and especially when playing tennis,” he said. “So I learnt from my early years in Spain how to win matches, find different ways of winning matches. Because everyone is so competitive in Spain, and especially in Europe.
“Then in Australia, I learned about being professional and everything I needed to do to accomplish my goals. I think with all those experiences, I was able to mature a little bit quicker than maybe a lot of the people around me. It gave me a little bit of an edge in my tennis career.”
