Alex de Minaur cops insult to injury after Katie Boulter's sad absence from Jannik Sinner thrashing
The Aussie tennis star's fiancee was noticeably missing as his Australian Open title dream was crushed.
Jim Courier couldn't help but take a cheeky dig at Alex de Minaur over fiancee Katie Boulter's absence from his loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Wednesday night. De Minaur was blown off the court in a masterclass from Sinner, with the Italian winning 6-3 6-2 6-1.
It took de Minaur's career record against Sinner to 0-10 and saw his Australian Open dream crushed in emphatic fashion. Amid the thrashing, fans noticed Boulter wasn't sitting in de Minaur's court-side box like she has all tournament.
The British star flew back to the UK before the match to prepare for her next tournament in Doha - such is the life of a travelling professional tennis player. Boulter's absence came up in commentary during de Minaur's clash with Sinner, and Channel 9 commentator Courier couldn't help but take a dig.
Todd Woodbridge pointed out during the second set: "Boulter isn't there this evening, she flew out today off to her next tournament. You have to keep playing so she is not in the crowd." Courier then said: "I hope her plane has Wi-Fi to keep track of the score, although at this stage it might be better if she doesn't."
At that point de Minaur had already dropped the first set and was down two breaks in the second. The dig from Courier was all in good fun, but summed up the nightmare performance from de Minaur.
Katie Boulter forced to leave Australian Open early
Laura Robson had earlier said on Eurosport's coverage: "Unfortunately Katie isn’t here, she’s gone home. She left yesterday morning because she’s playing Doha in a couple of weeks so needs to be able to prepare as best as possible for that. But I know she’ll be watching on the TV."
And Boulter hinted that she'd left Australia earlier on Wednesday when she posted on Instagram: "Thank you Aussie for making me feel like I’m at home" alongside an emoji of a plane. Boulter had been supporting de Minaur all tournament after her campaign ended with a loss in the second round. But her absence on Wednesday night summed up the reality of two professionals being in a relationship.
RELATED:
Alex de Minaur's subtle swipe at Novak Djokovic comes back to light
Iga Swiatek dragged into Aus Open storm as fans demand rule change
Alex de Minaur fires back at fan over 'awful' claim
Speaking after his demoralising loss, de Minaur vowed not to give up hope of one day winning a grand slam. "It's pretty tough right now for me to sit here after this defeat and tell you that I believe I can go all the way," the World No.8 admitted.
"But saying that, I do think that there are opportunities out there. Tennis is so much about match-ups, right? Yeah, I think right now my worst matchup on tour is probably Jannik. You know, there's a head-to-head that doesn't lie.
"If I'm in a different side of the draw, different little section, then who knows? I genuinely think I'm going to give myself opportunities, and I don't think my peak is making quarter-finals in a slam. I see other players that have made it further, have made semis, have made finals, and I do believe that I can be amongst them. If they have been able to accomplish that, then why not me?"
The Aussie star also fired back at a notorious fan on social media who wrote: "Alex de Minaur has zero self belief that he can even compete with Sinner let alone beat him. Awful performance from him."
De Minaur replied: "Hey mate it’s a shame that you never became a good enough player to experience playing Jannik. I’m sure you would’ve put up a better performance and know exactly how to beat him. Wishing you all the best!!!" De Minaur was praised for his response, which received over 2000 re-tweets and 13,000 likes compared to just 67 and 1000 for the fan's original post.
Hey mate it’s a shame that you never became a good enough player to experience playing Jannik. I’m sure you would’ve put up a better performance and know exactly how to beat him. Wishing you all the best!!!
— alex de minaur (@alexdeminaur) January 22, 2025