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sked to explain the origins of his ‘Demon’ nickname, Alex de Minaur goodnaturedly relates the story of a junior coach, Ben Pyne, making a play on his surname and the on-court speed that –even then – was emerging as a trademark. “It kind of worked and I went with it ever since,” De Minaur smiled.

A decade or so later, the ‘Speed Demon’ reference is more relevant than ever, the Australian having combined his lightning-fast movement with a never-say-die attitude that has tormented opponents – and thrilled supporters – for years. But any ‘demon’ attributes are tough to pinpoint in one of the game’s most committed competitors, whose role model qualities are evident in many aspects of the sport. They were most recently clear when De Minaur regained his status as Australia’s No.1 player – a position that provides him with unmistakable pride.

“It’s a great honour,” said the 24-year-old, who achieved the milestone by claiming his seventh, and biggest, singles

CHRISTIE reports

title at the Acapulco ATP 500 tournament in February, which boosted his return to world No.18.

“I’m happy to be in a position where maybe I can inspire some kids here and there (and to) show that with a lot of hard work and sacri ce, you can accomplish some great things in life.”

It takes only the briefest glance at De Minaur’s expansive record to appreciate how much those words ring true. The Sydneyborn athlete showed an intense dedication to tennis from the time he began lessons as a threeyear-old at Carss Park in the city’s south. One of his rst coaches,

Cindy Dock, fondly recalls how the dedicated young player was rarely spotted without a racquet.

“He just loved swinging his racquet around and hitting balls on all the walls at the tennis centre,” Dock told tennis.com.au in 2021. “The challenge at that age is to keep kids motivated, but Alex just loved it. Even then he’d chase down everything. You actually had to tell him to go home, otherwise he would have stayed on court all day.”

The passion soon translated to professional potential, with the teenage De Minaur peaking at world No.2 on the

Ons becomed the most successful Arabic player in history.