Alex de Minaur furiously threw his racket after losing to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, and he spoke about it after the loss.
The Australian player is among the best on the ATP Tour at the moment, which he proved by qualifying for the ATP Finals this year. Unfortunately for De Minaur, he lost every single match that he played at the year-end championship, but just participation is a huge achievement for many.
After the ATP Finals, De Minaur changed his schedule and signed up to play at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, despite not initially signing up to compete in the team competition.
Still, he appeared in Malaga, but he couldn't deliver for his country. In his first match, he lost to Taylor Fritz, but his countrymen were good enough to send Australia past the United States.
In the semi-finals, however, De Minaur needed to win his match. After Matteo Berrettini bested Thanasi Kokkinakis, the weight of the country was on De Minaur's shoulders, and he had to beat the strongest possible opponent, the current World No. 1, Jannik Sinner.
De Minaur couldn't win the match, losing 3-6, 4-6, despite playing at a high level, and after the match, he furiously threw his racket on the ground, showing how much representing his country meant to him.
He was asked about that moment after the match, explaining that he regretted doing that, as it was not how he wanted to portray himself. Still, he explained that it reflected how it felt at the given moment, as the match was important to him.
"(Smiling.) Yeah, I mean, right now, I regret that decision. That was, you know, a decision made in the spur of the moment that I regret obviously. Yeah, I'm not going to tell you that I'm happy that I lost that match."
After that, De Minaur shifted focus to the Davis Cup as a competition and Australia's recent lack of success. Australia is the second most successful country in the history of the Davis Cup, having won the competition 28 times, but their last triumph came in 2003.
"This is something that we've been trying to win as a team for a while now, that we've put in immense amount of efforts throughout the last three or four years, and everyone in the team has done their part."
Despite the loss, De Minaur was happy to be part of the Australian team, as they are known to have very good chemistry and get along really well.
"You know, it's been really great to be a part of this team. I wish I could have done a little bit more on my part and give some of my best tennis in the later stages of this year, but I think looking as a whole, it was just bad timing for us as a team."
"We suffered some injuries in crucial moments that when we're all playing some of our best tennis, we probably could have taken this whole thing. But it is what it is, and, you know, there is always next year."
De Minaur will now focus on the 2025 season, likely taking a few weeks off before starting his preparations. The Australian will then be happy to start the new season home in Australia, with the first Grand Slam of the season coming in Melbourne.