Alex de Minaur: Alcaraz is Tough, but a Better Matchup Than Sinner
Alex de Minaur has admitted that while Carlos Alcaraz is a challenging opponent, he believes he matches up better against the Spaniard than against Jannik Sinner.
On Sunday, de Minaur narrowly missed out on claiming his 10th ATP title, falling to Alcaraz in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 defeat in the Rotterdam Open final. Despite the loss, the Australian remains optimistic about his chances against the four-time Grand Slam champion, having pushed him to three sets in two of their three encounters.
His struggles against Sinner, however, paint a different picture. The Italian extended his dominant 10-0 head-to-head record over de Minaur in the Australian Open quarterfinals, dropping just one set across all their meetings.
De Minaur: ‘I Can Rush Alcaraz and Make Him Uncomfortable’
Reflecting on his battle with Alcaraz, de Minaur pointed out the key differences in his matchups with the two young stars.
“When I play Carlos, we always have very tough battles. It’s just about these matches going my way,” de Minaur said after the Rotterdam final.
“It’s definitely a better matchup for me – playing Carlos. I feel, in ways, I can rush him a little bit; I can pin him and hurt him, and make his life uncomfortable.”
“But I haven’t really managed to do that against Jannik yet, so tennis is all about matchups.”
After winning the second set against Alcaraz to force a decider, de Minaur was unable to complete the comeback, losing his serve in the sixth and eighth games of the third set.
He emphasized the unpredictable nature of tennis, where matchups play a significant role in determining outcomes.
“A lot of people in the tennis world know this. It’s the fun thing about tennis that not because one guy is ranked at a certain level and the other guy is ranked at a certain level, the higher-ranked is always going to win.”
Despite falling short, de Minaur’s confidence in his ability to challenge Alcaraz suggests that their rivalry could become a closely contested one, while the Sinner hurdle remains an ongoing challenge.
