Alex de Minaur spotted in post-match act amid huge scare for fiancee Katie Boulter at Australian Open
The Aussie tennis star made a mad dash for his partner after his own match.
Alex de Minaur made light work of Botic van de Zandschulp on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night, before making a mad dash to the outside show courts to support fiancee Katie Boulter at the Australian Open. And the move seemed to do the trick as Boulter came back from dropping the second set to prevail.
With de Minaur and Boulter drawn to play on the same day at Melbourne Park, it sparked questions about whether the star couple would be able to watch each other's matches. Boulter was originally slated to play at 3.30pm on Tuesday, but had her match delayed until 8.30pm after de Minaur's had started at 7pm.
It meant de Minaur got to watch the final set of his fiancee's match after wrapping up his own victory in straight sets. The World No.8 needed just 26 minutes to claim the first set on Rod Laver Arena before disposing of his highly-rated opponent 6-1 7-5 6-4.
He then raced to the outside courts and was spotted sitting in Boulter's player's box during the final set of her match. The 22nd-ranked Brit appeared to be headed for a shock early exit when she lost the second set to Rebecca Marino, before steadying the ship and winning 6-4 3-6 7-5.
Katie Boulter grateful for support at Australian Open
Despite being British, Boulter is an honorary Australian due to her relationship with de Minaur. And she had the crowd on her side throughout her first-round match, which she said gave her a huge lift. She was also boosted by seeing her fiance in the stands when she needed him the most.
"This is the closest I've ever felt to home, it's all because of you guys," she told the crowd in a post-match interview. "From the moment I landed here in Australia, I felt the love. I can't tell you how much it means to me, thanks so much."
When asked about seeing de Minaur in the crowd she said: "I'm guessing he won. I kind of figured if he lost he might not be sat there, I went with the win and I heard a massive roar so I figured that was an Aussie win. I'm so happy to see him through."
Katie Boulter had to fight big for this win. A really tight match that could have gone either way. The always supportive De Minaur made it over right after his match to cheer her on. Cute. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3w9QfYNQFV
— Ground Pass (@GroundPasspod) January 14, 2025
Always so great to see such cute moments 💓 in the tennis world
— TopSpin (@RallyScope) January 14, 2025
Demon really loves this woman 😅
— Eustace (@eustace_on7) January 14, 2025
Alex de Minaur advances on dire day for Aussies at Open
Earlier, de Minaur declared himself injury-free and ready to make a deep run at his home grand slam. The Assie star was hindered by a serious hip issue for much of 2024, but said his body was the best he'd felt for a long time.
"The body is exactly where I wanted it to be," the 25-year-old said. "I've put in countless hours over the better part of six months to get to this point and I'm feeling good, feeling comfortable moving, sliding from one side to the other and not really thinking about my hip. The body feels great - it's been a long time since it's felt this good - that's obviously an incredible positive."
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De Minaur's victory was the only joy for the Australian contingent on Tuesday, with Kim Birrell, Olivia Gadecki, Emerson Jones, Alexei Popyrin and Rinky Hijikata all bowing out. Popyrin was seeded for the first time at a major but was hampered by injury in his four-set loss to Corentin Moutet. While Australia's top-ranked female Birrell admitted she was rattled by a last-minute change of opponent after lucky loser Eva Lys stepped in to replace the injured Anna Kalinskaya.