Alex de Minaur made an exciting entry at this year’s Australian Open on Monday when local favorite Milos Raonic experienced an injury, resulting in their thrilling encounter being postponed at Rod Laver Arena. De Minaur moved smoothly through to round two in just nine games!
Raonic returned to tour-level tennis after nearly two years due to an injury layoff. He immediately showed determination with his powerful serve to claim the first set against De Minaur. Still, the Australian, who recently made headlines at the United Cup, broke through to become Top 10 on Pepperstone ATP Rankings by mounting an unlikely comeback en route to an early victory and leading 6-7(6), 6-3 2-0 until Raonic had to retire due to medical reasons in a first-round match against him.
During an on-court interview, De Minaur expressed his concern for Raonic: “My thoughts go out to Milos. It’s sad seeing him like this, and he deserves the chance to play his incredible tennis again as soon as possible, hopefully soon.”
De Minaur later described his match, saying he chased Deminaur’s serve for much of it and “guessing here and there” before losing in three sets to De Minaur. At one point, De Minaur seemed tight at the end, forcing himself into self-preservation mode to win the first set and ultimately losing momentum altogether; “in the second set, however, I reminded myself to start again and managed an unexpected break, shifting speed again in my favor. “
De Minaur will face Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the next round at his home Grand Slam tournament despite only ever reaching fourth-round performances twice (1922 and 2023). De Minaur remains optimistic about his chances, notably as this match-up marks their inaugural meeting under the Lexus ATP Head2Head series, adding extra anticipation for De Minaur as his journey through this competition unfolds.
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