Tennis fans noticed the Aussie’s gesture after his match for his parter Katie Boulter.
Aussie tennis hopeful Alex de Minaur made the dash after defeating compatriot James Duckworth in his first round Wimbledon clash to join Katie Boulter’s player’s box to support his partner at SW19. De Minaur faced a clash against fellow Aussie tennis ace Duckworth in the opening round and he was pushed in a tough battle winning 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a little more than three hours.
De Minaur was below his best when it came to converting break points, a feat he often excels at, having only won three out of 19 throughout the contest. Fortunately for the No.9 seed, de Minaur he showed his mettle in the three tiebreaks to send his fellow Aussie out of the competition in a rain interrupted match.
He did so in front of former Wimbledon champion and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt. However, de Minaur wasn’t ready to stay around for too long as he made a dash to watch his partner in her first round match.
British sensation Boulter was looking to carry her strong grass court from into Wimbledon as she took on German ace Tatjana Maria in the first round. And the Birmingham Open winner carried over her experience on grass to defeat Maria 7-6, 7-5 in a tough match.
And Boulter would have been thrilled to see De Minaur had made his way over from Court 12 to Court 3 and join her player’s box to add to the home support. Boulter was grateful for her support and gestured a love heart to her team after the win.
De Minaur and Boulter were not the only tennis couple on show on the second day of Wimbledon. World No.1 Jannik Sinner recently announced his relationship with Anna Kalinskaya. And he had fans also swooning over his kind words for his girlfriend after his latest triumph at the Halle Open.
And Sinner was also able to join Kalinskaya on Court 15 as she won her opening round match. Sinner won his opening round match on Day 1 in a four-set battle with Yannick Hanfmann.
Alex de Minaur prepares for tough Wimbledon draw
De Minaur admitted his experience in the big moments helped him win all three tiebreaks, and ultimately the match, but was aware the rest of the field will be coming for the Top 10 Aussie star. “It’s the aim of the game really, right? Ultimately, it’s a good position to be in,” de Minaur said after his match.
“I think the rest of the field now see…it as a chance to have a crack at me. It’s good because ultimately it means a lot of these players are playing against you with not a lot to lose.
“Therefore … you’ve got to always bring your level if you want to get through and that’s what makes you even tougher (and) gives you even more confidence about being able to squeak through tough moments. It definitely helped (in the) tiebreaker.”
De Minaur and Duckworth’s match was interrupted by rain after the No.9 seed took the first set. Rain came again with the third-set tie-break poised at 2-0 to de Minaur. De Minaur and Duckworth returned an hour later and the 25-year-old Aussie took the match.
De Minaur faces a tough run at Wimbledon with a potential third round match against Felix Auger-Alissiame, fourth round against Hubert Hurkacz and a quarter-final against Novak Djokovic. But de Minaur will be focusing on his next opponent in Jaume Munar.
Duckworth admitted he had his chances, but de Minaur was not at his best in his first match at Wimbledon. “I don’t think it was his best match. He’d probably say that as well. He could have played better, for sure,” Duckworth said. “(But it was the) first round (against) another Aussie. (He may have been) nervous and he hasn’t played a match for 10 days or so. So a number of factors go into that.
“But he’s a very good player, especially on this surface. He’s only going to get better, I think, from this match and, yeah, I hope he wins the tournament.”
