De Minaur gaining confidence on clay after Monte-Carlo run

Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur says he is “starting to feel dangerous” on clay after a strong week at the Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco.

The 25-year-old made just his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final at the event, beating No.15 seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in the quarter-finals before losing to Lorenzo Musetti.

Following his strong run, de Minaur is now confident that he can do some damage on the European clay over the coming weeks.

“I think it was a positive week,” he said.

“First week on the clay, and to be able to get to the semi-finals there — my career-best result there in Monte-Carlo — great week.

“As the week went on, I stayed playing some really good tennis.

“[I’m] starting to become dangerous on this surface.”

De Minaur entered the event as a title longshot, priced at $34 with leading tennis bookmakers.

While he punched above his weight, the Sydneysider says he is left with a “bitter-sweet feeling” after narrowly missing out on a second Masters final.

“Obviously finishing with that bitter-sweet feeling, it felt like that match slipped away in the semi-finals,” he said.

“I would have loved to have played the final.

“It’s never easy first week on the clay.

“I think for me, more than anything, I had a very tough first-round match against [Tomas] Machac.

“Things weren’t going too well, but I stayed present in the moment, I stayed positive, and I found a way out of that match.

“That gave me a whole lot of confidence.

“I was extremely proud of how I dealt with the conditions, with playing that first week on the clay.

“Happy with the level, lots to learn, lots to improve.”

De Minaur is in action again this week, playing as the fifth seed at the Barcelona Open in Spain.

Top bookie Neds has him at $13 to win the title, behind Carlos Alcaraz ($2.05), Stefanos Tsitsipas ($9) and Casper Ruud ($9).

He opens against Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Tuesday, and tennis betting sites have de Minaur at $1.30 to win.

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