Alex de Minaur had just one destination immediately after his milestone third-round win at Roland Garros — to run and give a hug to the young fan at courtside he swore had given him life during his most trying of French Open battles.
Under the cosh against big-hitting Jan-Lennard Struff in a wretched cold, rain-interrupted duel that dragged on-and-off for over eight hours, de Minaur reckoned the sight of the kid who braved the elements and never stopped cheering for him all day was what kept him going.
And he was so impressed by his new number one fan that de Minaur, who gave his cheerleader a souvenir towel after his 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory, later put out a plea on social media to find out the name of his young saviour so he could thank him properly.
“I need to find the name of this legend!!! Message me on instagram, I need you for the next round,” wrote de Minaur, after Roland Garros had posted film of the youngster supporting him on Court 14.
“That young lad was there from the very first point until the last with five hours of rain delay,” de Minaur told reporters.
“He was this little kid that at every single change of ends, every single point I won, he was screaming at my face.
“I’m looking at him and thinking if I was a fan, I would probably be back home, because it was bloody cold out there.
“I don’t understand what this kid is doing, but, oh, he gave me life.
“Every single change of ends I’m looking at him, locking eyes with him.
“And at the end I just gave him a hug. I was, like, mate … it was a relief more than anything.
“It was amazing. I appreciate this kid, the fact that he’s spent 10 hours at the court today in the freezing cold pumping me up. I was happy that I was able to get a win together with him.”
Asked what prize he had given the lad, de Minaur sounded almost embarrassed.
“Gave him a towel. Actually, I would have given him everything in my bag. I mean, I just wasn’t thinking straight with the emotions, but he deserved everything,” he said.
De Minaur hailed his back-to-the-wall triumph as one of his very best.
The Australian survived a hail of winners from powerhouse Struff but emerged the stronger, becoming the first Australian man for 17 years to reach the singles last 16 since his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt.
And at the end of a match that took more than eight hours to complete, de Minaur said he had discovered “gold at the end of the tunnel”.
“Another huge mental battle,” the 25-year-old said.
“It was probably one of my best performances, mentally, in my career to turn that match around with the conditions, with everything really against me.”
On another grey Paris morning, the “Demon” had a devil of a job coping with a rejuvenated 34-year-old giant playing lights-out tennis as he lost the first set and was reeling at 1-3 down in the second.
“Everything couldn’t get any worse, right? I knew that this was just his (Struff’s) ideal conditions to a T,” de Minaur said.
“Slow, heavy, rainy, muddy, he’s able to hit through the court and not make a lot of mistakes.
“I just told myself the only chance or way I was going to win was just to fight ’til the end, fight every single point, keep battling, try to stay in no matter what. That’s what got me the win.
“Sometimes you don’t get rewarded, but a day like today where I’m backed against the wall, a lot of things going against me, and managing to kind of find the gold at the end of the tunnel, it’s huge.
“It kind of gives me that confidence that I can do it again and again now.”
De Minaur’s opponent said he noticed a difference after the rain delay.
“After the rain, I felt he came on very well, played a bit more aggressive,” the German said.
“At the end, he was playing very good, hitting very deep balls, getting into offensive positions. He did a great job.”
De Minaur now has a fourth-round date with old foe, fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who overcame Czech Tomas Machac 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 1-6 6-4.
De Minaur was the first of the two remaining Australian singles players in action, with Thanasi Kokkinakis falling short against American Taylor Fritz in an epic five-set battle.
AAP
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