Alex de Minaur dares to dream of Australian Open tennis glory

Alex de Minaur’s on the up and up. Up the rankings. Up in people’s estimations. Up among the genuine contenders for the Australian Open.

Australia’s Alex de Minaur believes ‘the sky’s the limit’ as he prepares to get his campaign under way at Melbourne Park. Picture: Tamati Smith / The Australian

Alex de Minaur’s on the up and up. Up the rankings. Up in people’s estimations. Up among the genuine contenders for the Australian Open. Everything’s pointing in the right direction. And the bloke’s all heart. He’ll be up and at ’em at Melbourne Park.

“I’m ready to get started, to be honest,” de Minaur says.

“I’m playing great tennis. I’m very happy with where I’m at physically, mentally and with where my tennis is. I’m going to go out there in Melbourne and I’m going to compete and we’ll see what happens.”

An Australian man hasn’t won the Open since Mark Edmondson stunned the legendary John Newcombe in a battle of machismo and handlebar moustaches at Kooyong in 1976. Hundreds of Australian men have tried and failed to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Edo. That’s a 48-year-drought. Ash Barty made us swoon by winning the women’s singles in 2022 but it’s been a long time between celebratory drinks for the blokes. The curse of Kooyong?

De Minaur will be up for the fight. He’ll have crowds hooting and hollering for him. He’ll be up against it in the first round after drawing the man mountain Milos Raonic, a 196cm and 98kg Canadian possessing one of the biggest and most effective serves in the history of tennis. His first ­delivery has been clocked at 250km/h – but he’s past his prime and the in-form de Minaur should have him covered, wagging a triumphant finger in the air as he walks off Rod Laver Arena.

“I heard a pretty good quote: ‘How big would you dream if you knew you couldn’t fail?’ ” de Minaur said after beating Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in an exhibition match at Melbourne Park this week.

“That’s been the motto. I’m pushing myself every day and hopefully the sky’s the limit.”

Only a couple of days until the Open begins on Sunday. Love is in the air. Love for one of Australia’s great sporting events. Love for de Minaur after his sparkling build-up. And the bloke himself is in love. He’s been in a relationship with English player Katie Boulter for a while now. The only thing he doesn’t seem to be up for is December 25. They’ve previously posted a photo in which a beaming Boulter is wearing a jumper saying, “He Hates Christmas”. De Minaur’s matching jumper says, “Merry Whatever”.

He probably just wanted to get back on a tennis court. He’s worked his backside off to get up the world rankings to No. 10. His face is up on Australian Open billboards, his name’s up in lights, up and up he goes. He’s bold and dreamy enough to think he can do an Edo.

“It’s what I’ve worked so hard for,” de Minaur said after achieving his lifelong ambition of reaching the top 10. “It’s another milestone but it doesn’t finish there. Job’s not done. We keep on improving. We keep on trying to get better. I’m going to enjoy this Aussie summer.”