Alex de Minaur DC Open Title Defense Begins with Brutal Test

By Chloe Wellington-Hunt

After a tough Wimbledon loss that left him dejected and frustrated, World No. 5 Alex de Minaur smiles again as he prepares to defend his title at the ATP 500 Mubadala DC Open.

Last year, after winning the DC Open in a tough match against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, de Minaur said there was “disbelief.” Now, he’s back in Washington as the No. 1 seed in what’s been described as a “nightmare first-round draw.” The Australian will face a challenging wildcard: Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Alex de Minaur DC Open Draw Opens Against Tsitsipas

The Greek has a more-than-solid record against de Minaur, beating him 12-1 in head-to-head play. Most recently, Tsitsipas rolled through de Minaur at the Miami Open, defeating him 6-3, 7-6(3).

Wimbledon Heartbreak Still Fresh for De Minaur

De Minaur suffered a tough fourth-round loss at Wimbledon against Italian Flavio Cobolli. For the Australian hoping to make more waves on the tour, this was a moment that was “breaking him inside.” He delivered a bleak and emotional post-defeat press conference, admitting to significant self-doubt and sharing that he felt his dreams were escaping him.

“Like, I feel like a couple of years ago, I was definitely closer to that,” he said. “Now it just feels like I’m getting a little bit further away from those dreams.”

Renewed Confidence Ahead of the Alex de Minaur DC Open Title Defense

But de Minaur’s quiet and cool confidence has returned.

“I’m definitely feeling a lot better. I’m feeling in a good place,” he said. “I feel like everything is kind of clicking.”

For the Australian, no hope is lost.

“I feel like I’ve still got more to give,” the World No. 5 said. “I’m excited for what’s to come.”

And his record doesn’t lie. The Sydney native has won 11 ATP Tour singles titles and one in doubles. He’s reached seven major quarterfinals. He certainly is doing well, but as he acknowledged, many of the expectations he puts on himself come with the territory.

“One of the hardest things in sport is, as you get higher and higher, to constantly break new ground,” he said. “It gets more and more difficult. So you feel like you’re almost running up against a wall.”

Navigating DC Open Conditions at Rock Creek Park

While some players find DC’s hard court a pleasant transition from grass, de Minaur shared that the conditions aren’t entirely easy for players.

“I think one of the things I learned from last year is the conditions are not particularly easy, right? The ball is flying a fair bit. It’s quite quick,” he said. “It’s very — especially if you play during the day, it’s very rare to find some of your best tennis, right?”

He shared that even if he’s not playing pretty tennis, scrappiness is required to get the job done.

“You’ve got to be okay knowing that it might not be your best stuff, but a lot will do being there mentally and competing every point and trying to find a way to do certain things the right way,” he said. “So I can definitely draw a lot from last year and learning kind of through those things.”

But the courts at Rock Creek Park amplify one crucial aspect of the game: the serve.

“Obviously the way it’s all playing, it’s amazing serving conditions, so if you can serve well, it’s going to definitely put you in the right spots,” de Minaur said. “So a lot of focus on that.”

De Minaur Returns to the DC Open as a Newlywed

Here in Washington, de Minaur has found peace with where he’s at. Even though he’s going to bring a fight, it’s his first week back as a husband, after wedding fellow tennis star Britain’s Katie Boulter.

“It’s my first week back, right, so it’s not too many expectations,” he said. “At the moment I’m just out here enjoying getting back into the rhythm of things. I know I’m going to be building and getting better every single day.”