While his mentor Lleyton Hewitt used to hearken to ‘Eye of the Tiger’ to pump himself up earlier than a match, Alex de Minaur has taken a unique strategy to get his thoughts proper for the Australian Open.
De Minaur says he is been listening to the No.1 hit ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, launched by Bobby McFerrin greater than 10 years earlier than the Australian ace was even born.
He has even written the slogan on his tennis racquet bag as a further reminder that life is fairly good for the world No.24.
‘Demon’ had lots to smile about after his spherical one win, simply dispatching Taiwanese qualifier Hsu Yu Hsiou 6-2 6-2 6-3.
“I’ve got that song in my head at all times,” the 23-year-old stated.
“I’m listening before I step out on court, I just want that message ingrained in my head.
“Whenever there is a robust second on the market, I simply sort of attempt to sing that tune in my head and keep away from any destructive ideas and attempt to keep constructive on the market.”
De Minaur has brought former Australian Davis Cup player Peter Luczak in to his coaching staff, joining Adolfo Gutierrez who has coached him since he was nine.
He said that Luczak contributed to his new-found positivity.
“We began firstly of this 12 months however I’ve identified Peter for a very long time and we have executed a whole lot of Davis Cup matches collectively.
“It’s been good to have him around as he’s keeping a very positive mindset, keeping kind of me calm.
“I are typically fairly laborious on myself, so he is sort of attempting to remind me that I’m doing nicely, that I’m doing the correct issues, and to sort of get pleasure from each second on the market.”
De Minaur is the only seeded Australian in the tournament after injury to Nick Kyrgios while on the women’s side, there’s no defending champion Ash Barty nor drawcard Ajla Tomljanovic, who also pulled out with a knee injury.
But de Minaur, who’ll face the winner of the unfinished tie between American John Isner and Frenchman Adrian Mannarino – Isner was leading 7-6 (7-5) 3-4 when the rains came – is happy to be the standard-bearer for Australian tennis.
“I’ve been on this place some time, in Davis Cup clearly and I sort of cherish it,” he stated.
“I do know what’s requested from me – I do know that at occasions I’ve acquired some strain on myself to ship. I take it with satisfaction in the end.
“We’re in the second round and there’s still a long, long way to go but I try to look at it more as me individually and try to focus on my goals and get as deep as I can.”
“That’s the goal – get deep, enjoy myself and keep getting better every day.”
