Proud patriot Alex de Minaur vows to “do something for Australia” when his honorary Briton status is temporarily suspended over his US Open Ashes battle with English number one Jack Draper.
De Minaur and Draper will meet for a coveted semi-final spot at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday (4am Thursday AEST) and the Australian is well aware that his romance with British women’s star Katie Boulter will count for little this time around.
De Minaur relished the British embrace he received at Wimbledon after all home hopes had been dashed, saying: “Oh, I’m 100 per cent willing to accept all the support I can get. I can be the honorary Brit here.”
But seven weeks later, De Minaur stands between Draper and Britain having their first US Open semi-final since former world number one Andy Murray won the title in 2012.
“I’ve played against a lot of Brits. It’s never easy. I sense a bit of hostility in their country at the moment,” De Minaur said.
“But again, these are the kind of games I want to play. I’ve worked very hard to get into this position over the years.
‘So many hours off the court, on the court, working on little things, because these are the matches I want to play: Grand Slam finals, opportunities, quarter-finals.
“Yeah, I’m excited about the battle… I mean, doing one for Australia, doing one for myself as well.”
Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur says he feels some hostility from British fans
De Minaur (pictured with English partner Katie Boulter) will face Great Britain’s Jack Draper in the quarter-finals.
On paper, De Minaur, seeded 10th and playing in his third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final of the year, should beat Draper, ranked 25th.
He has beaten Draper in all three of their previous meetings.
But De Minaur knows that matches are not won on paper, especially against an inspired opponent who has not dropped a set en route to the quarter-finals and has conceded just 26 games in four matches.
“The most important thing we need to understand is that there is nothing certain in tennis,” De Minaur said.
‘It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve played with someone. It doesn’t mean much.
‘Playing against Jack, he’s coming off his best year by far. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He has very strong weapons: his serve, his backhand and sometimes his forehand.
‘So it’s always difficult to face someone like him, especially a lefty.
“I’ve had some successes in the past. I’m going to try to build on that, what I was able to do in those types of games.
De Minaur’s excellent form comes after a heartbreaking retirement at Wimbledon in July
“And it’s the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. I’m going to go out there and give it my all and compete, and these matches are there to be won. Being passive is not going to solve the problem.”
Having arrived in New York unprepared and unsure if he would even be able to play, having been on the sidelines since withdrawing from a scheduled big Wimbledon quarter-final with Novak Djokovic, De Minaur almost pinches himself to be where he is now.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said.
‘The last seven or eight weeks I have had to deal with a lot of emotions, a lot of experiences that have consumed a lot of my energy and my resources.
‘Going in, I didn’t have too many expectations. The hip wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent. I wasn’t feeling great. I was just going to go out there and see what I could do.
‘Little by little I’ve been feeling better every day. Suddenly, everything has happened, with the draws, many surprises, and now you have this opportunity.
‘In some ways it’s been a blessing in disguise because I haven’t put too much pressure on myself because I know how I feel with my hip.
“But at the same time, I feel better every day. So I hope to be at my best.”
The winner will face either world number one and reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner or fifth seed and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals on Friday (Saturday AEST).