De Minaur notches first Pro Tour win
Emerging Aussie Alex De Minaur has won his first match on the Pro Tour with a first-round victory in Brisbane.
Brisbane QLD, Australia, 28 September 2016 | David Packman
Wimbledon junior singles finalist Alex De Minaur has claimed his maiden match win on the Australian Pro Tour at the Brisbane QTC Tennis International on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old Australian – who was born in Sydney but currently resides in Alicante, Spain – wrapped up his match against qualifier Scott Puodziunas in straight sets, roaring out to a 6-0 5-2 lead before eventually claiming the second set 7-5.
“I thought I did what I had to do today,” De Minaur said. “I was being aggressive and made a lot of returns. In the second set, I was playing well but I dropped a bit of intensity and made things a bit complicated.
“In the end, I was happy to get through in two sets.”
Currently ranked world No.616, De Minaur has enjoyed a solid year in 2016, making two ITF Futures finals alongside his efforts at Wimbledon.
“I’m very happy with the year I’ve had,” he said. “But there’s still a lot of aspects of my game that need to improve.
“There’s still a bit of the year to go and I’m looking forward to just trying to really do well.”
De Minaur’s only other match on the Australian Pro Tour was as a wildcard in the Canberra ATP Challenger in January where he lost to American Noah Rubin in three tight sets.
The teenager will also play next week in Toowoomba before heading home to Spain, returning once again to Australia in early December for the summer.
“I’m pretty happy to be here right now,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the next two weeks.
“Australia is where I feel at home really, it doesn’t matter for how long, it’s always great to be back.”
Despite being back on home turf, De Minaur admits he isn’t that familiar with many of his compatriots on the Pro Tour.
“There’s a lot of guys who I know their names but not their faces,” he said. “Luckily I’ve got people around me who know them pretty well, so that always comes in handy.
“There will be a lot of tough matches but if I can concentrate and keep playing well, anything can happen.”
De Minaur will potentially next face third seed Dayne Kelly, who opens his campaign on Wednesday alongside top seed Luke Saville and last week’s Alice Springs titlist Marc Polmans.
Other winners in Brisbane on Tuesday included fifth seed Max Purcell, eighth seed Bradley Mousley, Tasmanian Harry Bourchier and De Minaur’s fellow 17-year-old Kody Pearson, a 4-6 6-2 6-3 winner over Isaac Frost.
Live scores of all Australian Pro Tour events are available at www.tennis.com.au/protour/scores and for a live stream of selected events visit www.tennis.com.au/protour.