De Minaur Determined to Overcome Sinner Hurdle After Australian Open Exit

Alex De Minaur reflects on his disappointing Australian Open quarter-final loss to Jannik Sinner, but remains determined to learn from the experience and improve his game.

Alex De Minaur's Australian Open campaign came to a crushing end on Wednesday, as he suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old De Minaur, who had emerged as Australia's best hope of ending a major drought, crashed to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 defeat by the defending champion in just an hour and 48 minutes. This loss ensured that Australia's wait for a homegrown Grand Slam men's singles champion would continue, with Mark Edmondson's 1976 triumph remaining the last time an Australian won the title.

De Minaur's defeat was his 10th in as many meetings with Sinner, taking some shine off an otherwise strong fortnight for the world number eight at Melbourne Park. Despite the disappointing loss, De Minaur reflected on the positives of his Australian Open campaign, saying, “The positives, how I handled everything... the fact that I came in this year as a top 10 with a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure. The whole country wanted me to do well. I wanted to do well here.” However, he couldn't hide his disappointment with the manner of his defeat, admitting that it felt like a setback after his recent progress.

De Minaur elaborated on his feelings, saying, “I would have loved to do more today, but this is what happens sometimes in tennis. The negative is after playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you've just been slapped across the face, to be honest, to finish off like that.” This defeat will undoubtedly be a tough pill to swallow for De Minaur, but he will look to bounce back from this setback and continue his progress in the world of tennis.

Alex de Minaur reflected on his recent loss, drawing parallels with a similar feeling of dejection he experienced after losing to Novak Djokovic a couple of years ago. Despite the disappointment, de Minaur remains optimistic about his future prospects.

A complete performance.@janniksin was at his brutal, balletic and brilliant best to defeat Alex De Minaur 6-3 6-2 6-1 to set up a semifinal date with Ben Shelton.@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/1a3mOeiQpq

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2025

De Minaur emphasized his determination to learn from the loss and improve his game. “I'll survive and keep improving. I need to sit with my team and figure out a way to hurt Jannik on the court,” he said, highlighting the importance of finding new strategies to overcome his opponents. De Minaur acknowledged that he and his team currently lack the necessary tools to succeed, but he is eager to go “back to the drawing board, like I've done my whole career.”

De Minaur expressed his confidence in his ability to continue growing and improving as a player. “I don't think that this is my ceiling. I've got more in the tank,” he stated, indicating that he believes he has not yet reached his full potential.