Alex de Minaur pinpoints the big change he’s made on clay over the last two years and what he ‘finally’ understands now

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Alex de Minaur has been hugely impressive at the Monte Carlo Masters so far, where he is into the quarter-finals.

De Minaur is set to play US Open mixed doubles later this year, but for now his focus is firmly on the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Australian is the eighth seed at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, and is currently chasing a 10th career title.

Carlos Alcaraz has been named the best clay player at this moment in time by Holger Rune, with the Spaniard also into the quarter-finals.

But De Minaur has just knocked out ninth seed Daniil Medvedev, having beaten Tomas Machac in his opener.

Alex de Minaur finally understands how he can play well on clay courts

The 26-year-old now takes on 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, but was on hand to offer an analysis after his latest success.

“I have really found my feet the last couple of years and I have really started to understand what makes me effective on a clay court,” De Minaur told Tennis Channel.

READ MORE: Alex de Minaur on the biggest change he’s noticed in tennis since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retired from the sport

“The first couple of years of my career on the clay I was not very effective. I wasn’t really comfortable on this surface.

“But it has taken a while to finally understand. I would say that probably the biggest difference is obviously height, spin.

“Natural ground strokes are ultimately a lot heavier. I am looking to open up the court with angles and depth a lot more. That is something that on a hard court, my natural ground stroke is already effective as it is, quite flat.

“But on the clay it is a lot less effective and I need to find different ways to hurt my opponent and that is with a lot of variety, speed, height, angles and depth and still being aggressive whenever I can.”

What surfaces have Alex de Minaur’s nine ATP Tour titles come on?

As mentioned, De Minaur is now closing in on double figures for ATP Tour titles, but a Monte Carlo Masters win would represent a career-first.

Boasting a superb career so far, the Australian is currently ranked 10th in the world, with a career-high of sixth reached last summer.

READ MORE: The three ATP players who could fly on clay without Rafael Nadal playing for the first time since 2002

But hard court victories have dominated his success, with seven of his nine titles arriving on that surface.

Grass-court success has also been achieved, meaning De Minaur should have extra motivation to enjoy a strong clay season in 2025.