Pat Rafter now genuinely believes that Alex de Minaur can reach the semi-final of the Australian Open.
The 1997 and 1998 US Open champion has been speaking to the Australian Associated Press.
So, what exactly has Rafter said about the Australian number one, Alex de Minaur? Let’s take a closer look…
What Pat Rafter has said about Alex de Minaur
The Australian Open is upon us and now that the draw has been made, the excitement can build.
De Minaur is a player who will be hoping to improve his pretty bleak form at Grand Slam tournaments.
He’s only ever reached one quarter-final previously and Rafter is pretty shocked by that statistic.
Rafter now believes that De Minaur can finally put to bed any myth that he can’t do it at the big tournaments.
He told the Australian Associated Press: “The match he played against Zverev, I thought, hang on, this kid’s starting to really get it.
“To beat Zverev when he’s at his top and now (De Minaur) is top 10.
“To only reach one quarter-final by now, that surprises me.
“I thought he would have done better than that and I think that starts now, semis, finals, definitely.”
Australian has point to prove at home Grand Slam
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable start to 2024 and he will arrive in Melbourne feeling confident.
At the United Cup, he had a good win over Zverev and also claimed a victory over Novak Djokovic.
De Minaur has also defeated Taylor Fritz and the only defeat he suffered at the United Cup came against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
Recently, he also came through against Carlos Alcaraz, receiving praise for his performance on Instagram.
His record at Grand Slam events has been pretty bleak and he will be desperate to move forward on that front.
His only quarter-final came back in 2020 at the US Open and last season he never made it further than the fourth round in any of the majors.
De Minaur faces a tough start to the Australian Open and he will hope to negotiate a way past Milos Raonic of Canada.
Rafter does have a point though and it’s quite remarkable that the youngster has such a poor record at the majors.
Right now, he’s playing well, however, and the hope will be that his fortunes can change this season – starting with the Australian Open next week.
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