How diminutive Alex de Minaur defies tennis convention to hang with tennis’ best players

Modern men’s tennis is dominated by a gaggle of towering power players. But one little Aussie has broken the mould. Here’s how he’s done it.

Alex de Minaur’s diminutive body is power packed. Picture: Michael Klein

Living in the Land of the Giants is no easy feat for Alex de Minaur.

But the Australian ‘freak of nature’ is managing to defy modern tennis conventions to challenge the new world order.

De Minaur will on Saturday attempt to break into the second week at Melbourne Park for the first time when he faces off with Fabio Fognini in his third round match.

To do so, he’ll need to keep channelling his inner Lleyton Hewitt, turn on the afterburners and build on his new-found reputation as the fastest man on tour.

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Alex de Minaur’s diminutive body is power packed. Picture: Michael Klein

To work out just how De Minaur manages to compete at such a high level you need to analyse not just his body of work – but his body as a whole.

And it’s a body which took a while to grow into. When he was 11, de Minaur had the same sized feet as he has now.

“It felt like a little bit of a little kid with clown shoes on. I didn’t have the best footwork, the best movement,” de Minaur said last September.

De Minaur is often compared to his mentor, Hewitt, for sharing significant physical and mental traits.

Compared to the rest of the tour, they’re both considered undersized – but they make up for it in many other areas of their game.

Like Hewitt, de Minaur is blessed with blinding speed, an incredible work ethic and tennis smarts that come in handy when you don’t bank free points every service game by dropping 230km/h serves.

de Minaur shares physical and mental traits with mentor Lleyton Hewitt. Picture: AFP

Even deep into his career, Hewitt remained one of the fastest players on tour – a crown held by Novak Djokovic in recent years, but one which may have been passed on to the Speed Demon.

“I think he’s one of the quickest guys on tour,” Canadian star Vasik Pospisil said of De Minaur last year.

“I think it’s Gael Monfils, probably and I think honestly I think Alex might be the next fastest guy.

“He’s very quick and what’s most impressive is he never breathes,” Pospisil said.

“He runs side-to-side and he’s never out of breath, I mean it’s almost he defies the laws of biology I guess.

“But he’s definitely a freak of nature, he’s extremely fit, never gets tired, runs side-to-side, incredibly fast.”

Combustible Italian Fabio Fognini awaits the Demon. Picture: AFP

The ATP tour these days is little different to walking into an NBA locker room – and success typically comes from those who tower over their rivals.

To look at the rising stars of the sport is to recognise that the likes of Alexander Zverev (198cm), Daniil Medvedev (198cm) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (193cm)

Of course, the three greatest aren’t behemoths – with Novak Djokovic (188cm) the tallest of the Big Three, ahead of the 185cm duo of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

But the fact remains that since 2004 no player shorter than de Minaur’s 183cm has tasted grand slam success – although three-time champion Stanislas Wawrinka is the same height.

So in many respects, the odds are stacked against de Minaur: and it just makes him work even harder.

“He loves competing. He goes out there every time and gives 100%. He leaves it out there,” Hewitt said of his young charge.

Alex de Minaur never stops running and he never gets tired. Picture: Getty Images

“He plays with his heart on his sleeve the whole time. He’s maturing as a tennis player. Every year he’s trying to push himself, become a better version of himself out there.

“Trying to add a bit more fire power to his game as well. He’s able to do that on serve. Very clean match from him (against Pablo Cuevas on Thursday) night.

“He works extremely hard on the practice court – he’s a perfectionist.

“He’s trying to push himself, always. He puts a bit more pressure on himself than he needs to.

“Even after the match last night, he sort of sit him down and he was frustrated that he dropped serve there halfway through or towards there halfway through or towards the end of the third set.

“For me it’s how he responds to adversity like that.”

That level-headed approach has carried de Minaur to a career-high ranking of 18 two years ago, and will serve him well against the fiery Fognini – who added to his ever-increasing catalogue of on-court explosions with a bizarre stoush with countryman Salvatore Caruso after their second-round match.

While Fognini’s fuse is as short as any on tour, de Minaur’s cool, calm demeanour makes him unflappable on court.

“I would say my temperament on the court is a bit more calm and chill, I like to stay to myself a bit and try to focus on my side of the court,” he said.

Originally published as How diminutive Alex de Minaur defies tennis convention to hang with tennis’ best players