The ‘toxic’ obsession Alex de Minaur is ditching to get better

“In the tennis world, victories are the best solution, so that almost alleviates the problem, but it’s always brewing. I definitely felt pre-Roland Garros that I was on that edge where everything needed to work out perfectly, or I’m in some serious trouble. I felt like I was going to ignite.” What puzzled de Minaur most was that he found himself at this point despite taking more time off this year than any other. He took an extra break before Roland-Garros, and even skipped his s’Hertogenbosch title defence at the start of the grasscourt season to prioritise rest. De Minaur and his team, spearheaded by coach Adolfo Gutierrez, soon grasped that it would take more than sitting out events to fix the situation. “I feel like everything I’ve done for the last four or five years has been so ranking- and points-driven that I’ve lost track of giving myself the best chance to perform,” he said.

“So, we shifted the focus a bit, and said, ‘All right, what do the big players do?’. The big players don’t need to rely on smaller tournaments. They just back themselves to go out and play at the highest tournaments, and they go out there, and don’t need lead-ups. They’re at that level, and they prove it. “We’ve decided to go down that route. It gives me a bit more rest, but also it’s about, ‘Hey, your ranking isn’t the most important thing’ … it’s more important for me to be mentally fresh and ready to go.” De Minaur stretches for a ball in practice. Credit: Getty Images De Minaur aims to avoid the “toxic” cycle of expecting himself to raise the bar every time. The idea is to celebrate his achievements rather than be disappointed if he does not better his performance. “You get stuck in that thought process that making the quarter-finals of a slam isn’t good enough,” he said.

“That’s a very normal, but bad, kind of toxic way to think about it, and it’s not sustainable for the rest of my career. If I want to keep improving, I need to not be so focused on results over process, or putting that much pressure on myself.” De Minaur wants a longer off-season for tennis players, and fewer mandatory tournaments, but a resolution is complicated and unlikely to happen soon. Loading His immediate focus is on Wimbledon, where he stormed through the first four rounds last year, only to suffer a freak hip injury on the third-last point of his round-of-16 triumph over France’s Arthur Fils. Instead of facing Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster quarter-final two days later, de Minaur called an impromptu media conference to announce he was withdrawing. He also missed playing singles at the Olympics and did not compete again until the US Open about seven weeks later.

That de Minaur extended his run of major quarter-finals in New York said more about his famed mental resilience than any physical improvement. He limped to the finish line last year in a devastating end to a season where he made his top-10 debut. “It definitely had a bit of an impact [this year] when I first got on the grass,” de Minaur said. “I was quite tentative with the way I was moving around the court, having flashbacks of what I would call probably an unnecessary slide on the grass, which caused an injury that was very difficult to handle for the rest of the year ... I had to learn to play with a lot of pain.

“But as I’ve had almost a full month on the grass; I’ve been able to start to feel comfortable again and move the way I was last year, and not be afraid to go out there and slide, which is a very good sign for me.” Loading De Minaur said he was keeping expectations in check. “I’m in a really good place with my game, and how I’m feeling mentally and physically, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself,” he said. “I haven’t had the normal prep that I’ve had in previous years, where I’ve played a lot of matches and had that chance to go into London with ‘X’ number of wins on the grass and that confidence from winning. But I’m ready, and I feel I can beat anyone.”

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