Tenacious Alex De Minaur offers glimpse into the future

Alex De Minaur may have lost the Next Gen Final but he showed the tenacity to suggest he’ll be around for years to come.

Australia's Alex De Minaur returns to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during the men's final of the Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan. Picture: AFP

Alex De Minaur charged at Stefano Tsitsipas’s second serve like a fleet-footed batsman advancing to an innocuous offspinner. He hit the ball on the rise and on the run. He fled the baseline with the urgency of a young man who’d stolen something and then he won the point with a stomp volley that would have done Stefan Edberg proud.

Some player, this kid. The 19-year-old Australian lost the final of the ATP World Tour Next Gen Finals in Milan yesterday (AEDT) by a scoreline that read like a typo: 2-4 4-1 4-3 (7-3) 4-3 (7-3). But his attitude and aggression made him compulsory viewing.

Limitations were exposed by the Greek Tsitsipas, the most scintillating young talent in the sport. There was no naturally ferocious power from De Minaur. He kept swinging out of his shoes because he had to. The forehand started missing at crucial stages because, without much topspin to speak of, the margin for error on the stroke was dangerously low. But he chased every ball. Contested every point. Fought, tooth and nail. He won the crowd, if not the trophy.

This year he’s become Australia’s top-ranked male player and, for now, the most interesting.

“I would like to congratulate Alex on his great run,” Tsitsipas said. “I have huge respect for him and his game and his personality.”

Time and again during a final that provided a glimpse into a future of courtside DJs, flashing neon lights, abbreviated sets and microphones to allow mid-match conversations between players and coaches, De Minaur rolled the dice as if he was oblivious to the scoreboard. Attack the second serve. Raid the net. Punch the volley with an old-fashioned (and loud) stomping of the foot.

He saved two match points through sheer tenacity, but the 21-year-old Tsitsipas completed his rise from world No. 91 to No. 15 this year with a freewheeling display of shot-making that had all the hallmarks of a future major champion.

Players sat back at changes of ends and conversed with their coaches. They placed large headphones over their ears, and so did their mentors, and they chatted away while TV viewers and spectators listened. De Minaur was good. Tsitsipas was great. He has a Roger Federer-like knack of 10-15 minute bursts when he simply can’t miss.

The Sydney International is normally a dud on the men’s side but with Tsitsipas on his way in January, it isn’t looking so bad.

“It was a fantastic match,” Tsitsipas said. “I stayed calm. I was mentally very strong and that was proved in the tie-breaks. It was a hard-earned victory and a very special moment. I can get some confidence from this and play even better in the future.”

For De Minaur, the curtain was drawn on a stellar year in which he tore up the world rankings from world No 208 to world No 31. He played a dream first set against the electrifying Tsitsipas, if you could call the six-game blur a proper set, before sheer willpower kept him in the hunt thereafter.

The enthusiasm appeared endless. He might be the only player not wanting an off-season. Lleyton Hewitt used to look ready to play every day of the week. De Minaur gave the same vibe yesterday.

He’d already been named the ATP World Tour’s Newcomer of the Year. He earned the biggest pay cheque of his career, $429,000. He’ll be worth the price of admission to the Australian Open. For the commitment to the cause. For his obedient pursuit of every last ball.