With a Spanish mother and Uruguayan father, the Australian tennis player Alex De Miñaur He amazes with his speed, ability to move from one end to the other and defend himself against shots that seem impossible to return. Many racket experts compare him to the Spanish David Ferrer, who reached number 3 in the world in 2013 and built his strength on the court based on an accurate reading of the game and formidable athleticism. Of course, De Minaur writes his own story: he does it in English and also in Spanish, a language that he speaks perfectly due to the influence of his parents.
Top 10 for a handful of weeks, the current number 9 in the ranking won the ATP 500 trophy in Acapulco (on hard surface, with US$2,377,565 in prizes), a contest that he had already won last year. This time, in the final he beat the Norwegian Casper Ruud (11th) for a double 6-4, in two hours. Only three tennis players had been able to win titles in the Mexican tournament in consecutive seasons: the Austrian Thomas Muster and the Spaniards Nicolás Almagro and Ferrer. Of course, De Minaur, 25, is the only one who has been able to defend the title since Acapulco was played on a hard surface in 2014 (previously it was played on clay).
This result in Acapulco allows De Minaur to reach eight titles in his career, after obtaining the trophies in Sydney, Atlanta and Zhuhai in 2019, Antalya and Eastbourne in 2021, Atlanta in 2022 and Acapulco in 2023. He now has a record of 8-8 in finals, breaking the streak of four defeats in definitions (he was a finalist in 2023 in Queen’s, Los Cabos and Canada, and this year in Rotterdam).
De Minaur, who is passionate about vintage cars (he has a Mini Cooper from 1973 that he restored), had outstanding numbers in the final against Ruud. He achieved three aces, committed three double faults, obtained 53% of first serves, won 67% of points with the first serve and 74% with the second, in addition to breaking the Nordic’s serve on three occasions. But, above all, he once again poured out all his physical ability to defend himself and counterpunch onto the court. The Devil, as he is nicknamed, won several points that way against Ruud, but there was one of them, especially, in which he ran from one end to the other, desperate, and ended up winning the point.
The cinematic point It occurred in the second set. It was with Ruud serving 5-3 down and 15 all. The goal, which had 17 hits and ended with a long touch drive from the Norwegian, had all the seasonings. Ruud literally walked De Minaur through the entire geometry of the court, with drop shots, smashes, volleys…, but the Australian always managed to return. When the goal was sealed with Ruud’s unforced error, the audience jumped from their seats, their hands turning red from the applause. It was, truly, crazy. A point that, without a doubt, will be among the best in the tournament.
The best point of the year?
“It’s been incredible… It’s been a week that I really didn’t expect, I feel honest. I arrived in Mexico not feeling my best and I kept telling myself that I should keep giving myself opportunities. I think that today (against Ruud) I played my best game of the tournament, so I am very happy,” said De Miñaur, who had very little time to recover from physical wear and tear and celebrate in Acapulco. This morning he was scheduled to take a flight to San Diego to see his girlfriend, the British tennis player Katie Boulter (49th in the WTA), in the final of the tournament, against the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (34th).
Summary of De Minaur’s victory against Ruud
Themes
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