Alex de Minaur breaks rank and makes gives Serena Williams verdict | Tennis | Sport

Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur has gone against the grain when it comes to player protests at Wimbledon this year. Stars including Jannik Sinner have been limiting their media time to 15 minutes during the first week of the Championships in protests about prize money and other concerns but world No.6 De Minaur has gone down a different route. The 27-year-old recognised organisers have taken steps to increase the Wimbledon purse after protests at the French Open, even if the numbers have fallen short of players’ targets.

“I was definitely a part of it and I think the sense that we had at Roland Garos was everyone was on board and I think even though we didn’t as a collective achieve the numbers that we were looking for, I thought that Wimbledon made a big step in the right direction and something that should be noted,” De Minaur said when asked about the protests. “So for me, it felt like it was, kind of in a way, this is for me to acknowledge their big step. Because of course, they didn’t need to. We’re still probably hoping as a whole that we eventually get to that number, but this is by no means a small step. It’s a big step in the right direction and I think as a whole, we’re hoping that it trends towards that side of things. So I’m still very much on board with what we’re trying to achieve as a collective but this is kind of me acknowledging a big step in the right direction.”

When speaking about Joint’s first round test, De Minaur compared the situation to his first meeting with idol Rafa Nadal when still making his own name in the sport. He compared that first meeting to later contests against the Spaniard in which he could recognise his opponent was in a different place in his career.

“The words of advice here so often are ‘treat it as any other match, any other opponent’. It’s easier than done, right?” he said when asked if he had a message for Joint.

“That’s just the the reality of it and I think over the years, playing these types of opponents, then you get more used to it and more accustomed to it. And you can focus a little bit more on playing tennis than giving so much respect before the match has even started.”

He continued: “I played Rafa here on Centre Court and, yeah, I mean, you’re excited but you’re nervous at the same time. You give them so much respect because of everything they have achieved here but sometimes you’ve got to try and remember to give yourself that respect, that you earned that spot and to be there and that it’s different timelines when you’re playing certain players.

“I played Rafa a couple of times. I played him early in my career and at the end of my career and as I played him a couple more times then it was clear that he wasn’t in his prime, like I did when when I first played him.

“So you start to understand that, you start to give yourself a little bit more credit and respect and then you can go out and play the tennis match on its own terms, but it’s not easy.”

He still has faith in Joint to do as much as anyone else in what can be a daunting scenario, adding: “I feel like very few people can cope with that situation, and that’s just the truth. How often have we seen someone be able to deal with a situation on that magnitude easily?

“I think Maya is a terrific competitor. I’ve got no doubt that she’ll go out there and compete and hopefully she can settle in quickly.

“I feel like a lot of these matches, the start is so important. If you can get yourself going early stages, then all of a sudden it just feels like any other match. But the issue is if you start it on the back foot and things start to slip away quickly, it becomes harder and harder to get out of that hole. But I think Maya’s going to compete, it doesn’t seem like too many things faze her, so that’s that’s a real positive and I’m wishing her nothing but the best.”