Escaping the hubbub of Wimbledon village is a key tactic in Alex de Minaur’s bid to post a career-best performance at the All England Lawn Tennis Club over the next week.
The world No. 9 will play French veteran Lucas Pouille, who enters Saturday’s match under an injury cloud despite his progression against Thanasi Kokkinakis on Thursday, in the third round as he seeks to reach the last 16 for the second time.
De Minaur said booking in some downtime away from the “crazy” scene around the Wimbledon region was part of his strategy for success this year.
It is not uncommon to spot stars around SW19 during the tournament at restaurants, supermarkets or, in the case of Nick Kyrgios a few years ago, at The Dog and Fox in the heart of the village.
Rafael Nadal could be spotted darting up and down the hilly superb on a push bike and Angelique Kerber reportedly used the local 93 bus to get around, while one former local resident remembers being surprised when he looked out the window to see Bernard Tomic taking a brief rest on a seat on the high street in the middle of the night after an on-court campaign had ended.
But that is not for De Minaur, who has become more familiar with London in recent years courtesy of his relationship of more than four years with English No. 1 Katie Boulter.
“Yeah, over the years, I have spent more and more time here in London, so I’ve gotten to know it quite well,” he said.
“There are kind of different nooks and places that we enjoy. It is anything that involves disconnecting from tennis, right? That’s the main goal.
“So we’re probably going to stay clear from Wimbledon. We don’t really want to be even in the village, (although) we do love the village.
“But … at this time it is crazy. (So) anything that’s on the outskirts, where we can forget about tennis and be normal human beings, that is for us.”
Quizzed as to his tips for those nooks and crannies, de Minaur swatted away the query as swiftly as he has been swiping his forehand.
“I don’t want to say. They wouldn’t be so private anymore,” he said.
Despite a gulf of more than 200 spots in the ranks between them, the Australian No. 1 is wary of the threat posed by Pouille, who advanced when Kokkinakis injured his knee in the second round.
It is with good reason. Pouille, 30, is a former top 10 player who has five titles to his name and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open back in 2019.
The powerful all-rounder also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2016 and is on the comeback trail after recovering from elbow surgery, which saw his ranking drop outside the top 800, a period through which the Frenchman became a father.
But it will be intriguing to see how Pouille, who has also battled issues with his legs during his comeback, recovers for the clash with de Minaur in news that will add salt into what is a raw wound for Kokkinakis.
Pouille received treatment after feeling pain in his stomach muscles at the end of the first set and told French reporters after his triumph that his team advised him to retire given his injury history, a message he would have followed had he dropped serve in the second set.
Mindful of the prospect his time on court might be restricted, he started hitting more freely and after surviving break points at 4-all, was able to break Kokkinakis late in the second set. French reporters told foxsports.com.au they believed Pouille would undergo scans.
If fit, Pouille as the ability to trouble the best, as both Kokkinakis and de Minaur noted this week.
“I haven’t seen him play in a while but I know sort of lately he’s been finding his form again. He obviously played great in qualifying,” Kokkinakis said.
“Me and Lucas are good mates off the tour and it’s good to see him coming back again. Whether it was injuries – I know he had a kid as well – I’m not sure what exactly kept him out. But it is going to be tough.”
De Minaur concurs and said he will need to perform at his best to prevail on Saturday if Pouille is in good health.
“I think he’s got experience on the grass. He’s a veteran player who again, his high level is very high and he can make it very hard for any player out there on his day,” de Minaur said.
“He’s probably going to take it to me. I don’t actually know if I (have) played him in an actual ATP match but I played him in some practice and … it was always brutal and super tough. So, again, I’m going to be bringing my A-Game.”