Alex de Minaur continued his impressive run of recent form defeating US Open 2020 winner Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic on Tuesday.
In front of a parochial Australian crowd, the 23-year-old didn’t have many issues as he dismissed the Austrian 6-4 6-4 in 98 minutes.
The win means that De Minaur has beaten three Grand Slam winners in his last four victories – including Thiem, Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic – in a perfect tune up for the Australian Open.
“I’m excited. It’s my home slam, going to be great to play in front of such an amazing crowd, a home environment,” De Minaur told SBS.
“I’m just going to try to bring all that energy, and get fired up and hopefully put on a show for the crowd.
“Extremely happy with how my level is looking, how I’m feeling on the court.
“We got the Aussie Open around the corner, so you want to get there as fresh physically and mentally as you can, and at the moment I’m feeling good.
“It’s no secret I want to perform at home, you know. That’s I think what any Aussie wants to do. I know it’s not an overnight thing.”
Thiem, who was ranked as high as three in 2020, has been devastated with injuries over the past two years and has secured a wildcard for the Australian Open, with his current ranking at 99.
The Austrian thrilled the crowd with some excellent shots as he hopes to bounce back from a period that saw him ranked as low as 352.
In the other completed men’s match at Kooyong, Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov saw off rising Croatian Borna Coric 7-6 7-6.