Alex de Minaur looks more comfortable on the clay with every passing match as he kicked off his latest title bid in the Madrid Open with an emphatic victory.
Australia’s No.1 made just nine unforced errors in a clinical 6-2 6-3 win over Italian Lorenzo Sonego on Saturday to power into a third-round date against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in just an hour-and-a-quarter.
De Minaur, the world No.7, has eased into his clay-court campaign in 2025 by reaching the semi-final in Monte Carlo and the quarters in Barcelona, and admits he now feels like a different player this year, full of confidence on a surface that used to torment him until his breakthrough at last year’s French Open.
Hoping to do better than his quarter-final appearance in Paris last year, the 26-year-old is now looking at the prospect of a big run in the Masters 1000 event at altitude on the faster Caja Magica courts in the Spanish capital to set him on his way to Roland Garros.
“I started by getting broke in the first game, and everything kind of came very quickly,” de Minaur reflected after a shaky start.
“But I was very happy with how I settled mentally, and was able to bounce back straight back and I really ended up playing some great tennis. So very happy with that.”
Indeed, after the shock of losing his opening service game, de Minaur responded by breaking the Italian world No.43, who he’s now beaten four times out of four, three times in a dominant opening-stanza display.
The Australian’s returning on the surface was again excellent and he was also well in control behind his own delivery, winning 82 per cent of his first serves and 92 per cent of his second deliveries.
“To be honest, the thing that’s been helping me out the most has been the serve. Today was a great serving day for me, and it made my life a lot easier,” reflected de Minaur.
“And it helps knowing what to expect here. I know what’s normal. At times, the ball can fly on you a little bit in the thin air.”
Asked about his striking general clay-court improvement, he added: “You see less unforced errors from me, and at the same time, you see me being a little bit more aggressive, being able to hurt my opponents in different ways.”
