Alex de Minaur has reached the final of the China Open for the first time in his career, but perhaps not in the manner that he would have expected to.
De Minaur had a disappointing US Open this year, where he lost in the second round, and was hoping to rediscover some form during the Asian swing.
The Australian has done just that, with De Minaur, who has been joined by Lleyton Hewitt in China, now making it all the way to the final.
De Minaur looked well on his way to doing so after leading Hurkacz 6-4, 3-2 with a break, but the match was called to an abrupt end after the latter retired due to unspecified physical issues.
Alex de Minaur calls Hubert Hurkacz ‘one of the nicest guys on tour’ after his retirement
De Minaur spoke in his on-court interview after reaching the China Open final, but first he wanted to wish Hurkacz, who he called ‘one of the nicest guys’, a speedy recovery. De Minaur then went on to speak about his own performance, particularly highlighting his serve as something he was pleased with.
“Yeah, obviously first and foremost wishing Hubie a speedy recovery, hopefully it’s nothing major and he can be back for Shanghai,” said De Minaur. “He’s one of the nicest guys on tour so I really wish him nothing but the best.
“As for me, I started really well. I was playing some big aggressive tennis from the get go. I thought I returned really well, I was able to tick off his serve early doors and got off to a hot start. Yeah, all in all it was a pretty clean performance from my side.”
De Minaur is now into the final in Beijing, but at one stage he looked as though he would not even make it out of the second round after being just two points away from defeat against Quentin Halys. This is also something that De Minaur was asked about, as he stated his excitement to play in the final.
“That’s what it’s all about right. It’s not worth peeking in the first round, but definitely you’ve got to find a way to survive and that’s what I did this week,” De Minaur continued. “Now here I am playing for the title and pretty excited for that.”
- First Round: De Minaur beat Mariano Navone, 7-6(4) 6-2
- Second Round: De Minaur beat Quentin Halys, 3-6 7-6(5) 7-5
- Quarter-final: De Minaur beat Andrey Rublev, 1-6 6-2 6-3
- Semi-final: De Minaur beat Hubert Hurkacz, 6-4 3-2 (Hurkacz retired)
De Minaur will face either Daniil Medvedev or Novak Djokovic in the final, and he was asked what he is going to do against the winner of the second semi-final.
“Nothing more from what I know I can bring to the court and that’s what it’s all about,” responded De Minaur. “Just the same mindset, same attitude I’ve brought in every single day. Go out there, compete, play my heart out and let the best man win.”
Liam Broady believes Alex de Minaur might be a bit relieved about Hubert Hurkacz’s retirement
While De Minaur showed a lot of concern for Hurkacz, British ATP player Liam Broady believes the retirement may have provided some relief for him.
When commentating on the match live on Sky Sports, Broady stated how ‘dangerous’ Hurkacz looked on both serve and return, but also praised De Minaur for the way he played.
“I’m pretty sure there would have been a slight feeling of relief in there for De Minaur, alongside the concern for Hurkacz, because Hurkacz looked very dangerous then,” said Broady. “The way he was returning, the way he was serving, but that’s what you tend to see from an Alex de Minaur performance.
“Very low unforced errors compared to his opponent, forcing them to miss, forcing them to lose their mind, lose their temper and breaking them down. Unfortunately today it was Hurkacz’s body that broke down.”
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De Minaur has only won one title so far this year, coming at the Rotterdam Open back in February, and he will now be hoping to claim his 11th career title in Beijing.
The final of the China Open will see De Minaur face either Medvedev or Djokovic on Tuesday, October 6.
