Alex de Minaur booked his second final on grass and he'll try to get it done though it will be very tough against Carlos Alcaraz.
De Minaur put together a very impressive week at the 2023 Cinch Championships that started with him snapping the winning streak of Andy Murray in the first round. Since then he cruised past opponents to book his second ATP-level final on grass in his career hoping to add another trophy.
The opponent will be as tough as it can get with Carlos Alcaraz who produced a sensational effort to halt Korda's run in Queen's. There won't be a shortage of motivation for the Australian as he wasted match points last year against Alcaraz in Barcelona. He's also getting tips from Aussie tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt so he'll certainly be very dangerous.
He's been a huge mentor and my Davis Cup captain, so he's been messaging me this week as well. You know, hopefully I can keep it going.
Hewitt was a tough out on the grass and De Minaur actually hit with him on the surface in the past. De Minaur described the experience as a nightmare imagining how hard it must have been to play Hewitt on the surface in his tennis prime.
I have been fortunate enough to hit with him on the grass. (smiling). This is way past his prime, so I can only imagine how he made his opponents feel whenever he stepped on a grass court.
Hewitt is taking his job as the Australian Davis Cup captain very seriously and he's very invested in the careers of his players. De Minaur shared that Hewitt always congratulates him after the match keeping him motivated.
I think he's just letting me know after every match, good job, well done, just positive, you know, just being there. Probably not as much technical stuff. He's definitely keeping track of every one of my matches.
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