It was the embrace that captured the hearts of the tennis world, and now the bond between Alex de Minaur and a random French kid in the crowd is fuelling a run to glory.
After defeating German Jan-Lennard Struff over the weekend, de Minaur said he had been urged on by the vocal French youngster with the backwards cap, before giving him a hug after the match.
Having put a call out on social media in an attempt to find the kid, the Sydney-born 25-year-old eventually found his biggest fan and brought him courtside for his epic victory over Daniil Medvedev.
It was a decision that de Minaur reckons worked wonders.
“He’s managed a miracle. I might have to get him on tour week in, week out,” the 11th-seed said in a press conference after the match.
“No, we found him obviously through the beautiful world of social media, we ended up finding him. We got him to the match. He came with his whole crew, with his mates and his coach. It was great to see him out there.
“Again, even on that big court, I could hear him after every single point. It’s a distinctive voice, so it’s great to see.
“He’ll be around. I think he’ll be chilling with me tomorrow in my practice day and of course, he’ll be there for the very next match.”
Footage throughout the match showed the little mascot yelling as loud as he could, before a lovely exchange in French on-court after the victory.
“I could hear you at every point,” de Minaur told the youngster.
De Minaur then went on to hand over his cap in the tunnel, and invite his new mate to practice the next day.
It has been an exchange that has helped de Minaur become a fan favourite at Roland Garros.
Based between Sydney and Spain, and dating British professional player Katie Boulter, he is building an army of European fans, and his slightly less-than-fluent French has helped charm the locals.
On court, his opponents are taking notice as well, with Medvedev saying de Minaur can beat anyone ahead of his quarterfinal clash Alexander Zverev, who went the distance with Holger Rune to win 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
“Today he played probably the best match we played,” Medvedev told reporters after the clash.
“I watched his matches on clay this year to try to see which tactic to play … but I didn’t see him play like this.
“I mean, his serve today, he was serving better than most guys I played on clay, so that was surprising.
“Today he improved, big time in every aspect. Then it comes to the point where we know that Alex can beat anyone — I think he did already beat Novak (Djokovic), everyone, Rafa on clay.
“But then it’s a question of whether you’re ready to do it week in, week out, and become No.1 in the world, two in the world, three in the world.
“He’s close there, so he’s a top player, then it’s a question (of) what he does in quarters. If he plays the same like he played today, let’s see.”
The rise of de Minaur has been steady rather than meteoric. On the brink of reaching his prime, he has a chance to do what no Australian man has done in 22 years and claim a Grand Slam victory.
With his little mate by his side, it seems that anything could be possible.
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