Alex de Minaur sets up clash with Matteo Arnaldi

Alex de Minaur’s next Australian Open opponent is even more dangerous than the one he just faced.

Canadian Milos Raonic congratulates Alex De Minaur, right, after he was forced to retire from their match. Picture: David Caird

Alex de Minaur’s next Australian Open opponent is even more dangerous than Milos Raonic. It’s Matteo Arnaldi, the rising young Italian who beat Alexei Popyrin in last year’s Davis Cup final.

De Minaur dodged a bullet when Raonic retired with a recurrence of his hip injury at 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 2-0 in their first-round match at Melbourne Park. Raonic was serving brilliantly and hitting the ball cleanly but his movement was poor and he couldn’t go the distance. Few people in Australia will have heard of World No.41 Arnaldi – but he can play.

“I don’t look at the draw,” de Minaur says. “I don’t like it. I think it’s a way of getting ahead of yourself. There’s no moment like the present. For me the only thing I’m really focused about is just my next-round opponent, which is obviously Arnaldi, who is a quality Italian player with a lot of firepower. He started the year really well. I’m going to be ready for that battle. Whatever happens happens after that.”

Arnaldi defeated Popyrin in three sets in the Davis Cup final. De Minaur was beaten by Jannik Sinner and the trophy was gone. De Minuar was below his best against Raonic but that was to be expected. Rhythm is impossible against a bloke serving bombs and going for broke on groundstrokes.

“It’s no secret Davis Cup is a huge priority for me,” de Minaur says. “It’s been shattering the last couple of years, just to get so close to the Holy Grail and just barely miss out. I mean, I do associate Matteo as the guy that beat us in the Davis Cup final. I’ll do my best to hopefully get some revenge. He’s a quality opponent. I’ll be ready for it, hopefully. The great thing about it is I’ll definitely get a little bit more rhythm. I’ll feel a little bit more confident on the court and I’ll feel like I have a little bit more time, especially on return.”

De Minaur was stunned by Raonic’s first set but hung tough. “No matter what the situation is, I’m going to stay calm and collected,” he said after the match. “I know five-set matches are a very long way to go. Doesn’t matter what position you’re in, stay calm and collected. I’ll believe in myself to change the situation, any situation. There’s no real nerves from playing this sort of match or playing in Australia or playing on RLA. I think the nerves come from paying an opponent like Milos, because it’s so unpredictable, so tough to play him. You’ve got no rhythm. Ultimately it feels like a lottery.”

De Minaur added: “You get to a tiebreak and you feel like every single point is so important. That’s what creates probably the nerves and the tightness. I do believe I lost that first set due to that. Just got tight in the big moments. But it is what it is. It’s a five-set match. I told myself to regroup. There’s a little bit more hype around me but in saying that …. I haven’t changed in the slightest.”