de Minaur ‘deservedly’ under pressure, says former star
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic says Alex de Minaur can cope with the pressure brought by his brilliant run at Roland Garros to deliver his best ever result at the grand slam.
The Australian star faces a tougher draw than he could have received after slipping from seven to nine in the world rankings following his shock first-round exit at Queen’s.
But Dokic said the defeat to Italian young gun Lorenzo Musetti should not raise alarm bells as she called the transition from clay surfaces to grass one of the toughest in the sport.
“I don’t think a loss here and there is anything to worry about,” Dokic said on Tuesday.
“I think (de Minaur) is primed and ready to do really well at grand slams, like he showed at Roland Garros making the quarter-finals when it wasn’t even his favourite surface.
“He’s really got a game for grass, he’s more aggressive, a much more mature player, he comes forward so well now as well, that transition to the net which is so important.”
Dokic said she considered de Minaur among the “top three or four” contenders in the men’s singles along with French Open finalists Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner and British rising star Jack Draper.
“For Alex, the pressure is on him and deservedly so. I think pressure is a privilege and he’s embracing that now,” she said.
“He’ll be looking to make the second week, he had a couple of heartbreaking losses a few years ago (in 2022) when he had match points to get into the quarter-finals.”
Dokic will next week mark 25 years since she shocked world No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of her Wimbledon debut as a 16-year-old.
The former world No. 4 thrived on grass and reached the quarter-finals of her maiden Wimbledon tournament before making it to the final four in 2000.
She said there were attributes in Australian Ajla Tomljanovic’s game which would make her a dangerous opponent at Wimbledon this year.
The 31-year-old fell just short of clinching her first WTA singles title last week when she was beaten by Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in the final of the Birmingham Classic.
“Ajla’s done a good job coming back from injury, She’s so dangerous on grass,” Dokic said.
“She’s a flatter hitter, she’s got a big backhand she causes so many problems with for a lot of other players.”
Along with the 11 Australians in the main draw were 16 more in singles qualifying, with James Duckworth, Alex Bolt and Li Tu all winning through to the second round on the opening day.
Women’s qualifying, which will feature a contingent of 10 players including Arina Rodionova, Kimberly Birrell and Taylah Preston, was set to begin on Tuesday night.
