‘Half-British’: Poms try to claim Alex de Minaur as their own at Wimbledon

Alex de Minaur is as Aussie as Vegemite but it hasn’t stopped another nation adopting him as he prepares to face Novak Djokovic.

Alex de Minaur is an "honorary Brit". Photo: Getty Images

Alex de Minaur will have his work cut out against him when he plays Novak Djokovic in his first Wimbledon quarterfinal but the Aussie will have more than just one nation behind him.

While Australia is hoping for a monumental boilover in what will be the wee hours of the morning (the match is scheduled to start at 11.45pm AEST), the 25-year-old from Sydney will also have all of Great Britain behind him.

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Cam Norrie was the last Brit left in the men’s draw when he was knocked out in the third round by Alexander Zverev, while Emma Raducanu made the fourth round before losing to New Zealander Lulu Sun.

So while a Brit won’t win Wimbledon this year, de Minaur is the next best thing.

While he’s an Aussie through and through — as much as he can be after growing up in Spain between the ages of five and 13 — de Minaur has been adopted as an “honorary Brit” due to his relationship with British world No. 29 Katie Boulter.

Earlier in the tournament, he even rushed from his match to attend his girlfriend’s match, which started 12 minutes before his match had finished.

This meant a lot for Demon. Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images

After he booked his place in the quarterfinals, de Minaur was called “half-British” by a reporter in his press conference and welcomed the additional support when he was asked if they could “borrow” him.

“100 per cent — I’ll take all the support I can get. I can be the honorary Brit here at Wimbledon,” de Minaur said. “I’ll take all the support I can get.”

“I do feel very loved out there. I always love coming here to Wimbledon. I feel like I play some of my best tennis here and over the years I feel like the support I’ve had has grown significantly.

“It’s a great feeling as a player knowing you’ve got a lot of people in that stadium backing you in and having your back when you’ve so far away from home.”

He added: “Definitely over the years I’ve learnt a lot more about the British culture thanks to Katie. I’m getting there.”

De Minaur defeated Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3 but will have a huge step up in class against world No. 2 and 24-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic has had the opposite reaction to de Minaur after he slammed crowds for chanting “Rune” during his last match, accusing them of “disrespect”.

He also walked out on a BBC interview after a series of questions about the incident.

Demon has been in great form. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

If de Minaur can claim a win, it’ll be the first time in 18 years that an Aussie has claimed a win over Djokovic at a grand slam, but Aussie tennis great Casey Dellacqua believes it’s “Alex’s time”.

“He’s in the best form of his life. He is going to have to play the match of his life to beat Novak. I think he can do it,” she said.

“I think he is a fan favourite because he just hustles and you want to get behind him. He runs, he fights and he is the Demon.

“He’s so calm and collected at the moment within his game and with how he is off-court. It’s a very special thing to make a quarterfinal at Wimbledon.”

Even Djokovic had kind words for de Minaur, who defeated him at the United Cup in Australia at the beginning of the year.

“He has improved so much in the last year-and-a-half,” Djokovic said of de Minaur after their match was confirmed.

“Watching his progress, seeing him get into the top 10 is not a surprise. He has plenty of experience playing on the big stage in the latter stages of grand slams.

“He’s going to come out giving his all and believing he can win. He already beat me in Australia this year, so there’s no reason he can’t think he can win that match.

“But obviously grand slam is a whole different game, I guess, but I like my chances.”

De Minaur is being claimed by the Poms. Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP

Demon with his British girlfriend Katie Boulter. Photo: Instagram

A big potential issue however is that de Minaur appeared to injure himself as he played the winning shot against Fils before walking gingerly back to his courtside chair.

As he sat down, he shook his head towards his box, where 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, a fellow Australian, and Boulter looked on.

“I’m feeling pretty decent. The body went through a pretty physical match out there,” de Minaur said, who explained that he had twisted his hip.

“The body feels a little bit ginger everywhere. I’m not going to lie. I’ve done my recovery. I’m sure I’ll be feeling great tomorrow.”

It’s been a brilliant Wimbledon for de Minaur and he’ll make history win or lose against Djokovic.

He’s expected to rise to world No. 6 at the end of Wimbledon — a feat that only six Aussie men have achieved before.

Lleyton Hewitt, John Newcombe and Patrick Rafter all reached World No. 1, while Ken Rosewall reached world No. 2, Rod Laver world No. 3 and Pat Cash world No. 4 since the ATP rankings system was introduced in 1973.

With AFP

Originally published as ‘Half-British’: Poms try to claim Alex de Minaur as their own at Wimbledon