Alex de Minaur earned the biggest win of his career so far, beating Novak Djokovic in their 2024 United Cup clash on Wednesday. After the match, he commemorated the victory with an Instagram post. His girlfriend Katie Boulter, a top WTA professional herself, pulled his leg in the comments.
Australia and Serbia faced off in the quarterfinals of the mixed-team event. The tie started with De Minaur taking on Djokovic in the men’s singles. The World No.11 Aussie produced great tennis to snap the Serb’s 43-match winning streak Down Under. Djokovic struggled with his wrist, a problem persisting from his previous match against the Czech Republic, and ultimately lost 4-6, 4-6.
After hosts Australia sealed a spot in the semifinals, De Minaur took to Instagram to share some photos from his historic win. He also posted an image of the team posing with the country’s flag.
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Boulter, who represented Great Britain at the 2024 United Cup as their No.1 women’s singles player, has been in a relationship with De Minaur since 2020. She jokingly commented that her boyfriend cannot beat her at targets during practice despite defeating the World No.1 on the court.
“Beats the best in the world, still can’t beat me at targets tho “
Interestingly, Australia and Great Britain were placed in the same group. They met in the first tie of Group C as the latter emerged victorious 2-1. De Minaur lost his singles tie against Cameron Norrie while Boulter won her’s against Ajla Tomljanovic. Australia pulled one back in the mixed doubles, which proved instrumental for their progress. As all three Group C teams (third being the USA) finished level on wins, Australia qualified backed by their superior set W/L record of 7-6. Despite Boulter winning all her singles matches, Britain finished at the bottom. However, the World No.57 clearly found solace and pride in her boyfriend’s success.
Alex de Minaur brushed off odd question in press conference after winning over Novak Djokovic
After Alex de Minaur completed his iconic win against Novak Djokovic, Australia made light work of Serbia. Ajla Tomljanovic beat Natalija Stevanovic with a double breadstick. Storm Hunter and Matthew Ebden comprehensively won the mixed doubles to wrap up the quarter-finals 3-0. Australia will now face either Greece or Germany in the semi-finals.
In his post-match press conference after beating Djokovic, De Minaur was stumped when a reporter asked him about his engagement plans with Katie Boulter. He was understandably not prepared to answer such a personal question after a landmark victory on the court. However, he navigated the conversation maturely.
As per Tennis.com, he did not rule out the possibility of him tying the knot with Boulter. De Minaur, though, said he prefers to focus on his tennis right now ahead of a home Grand Slam. The reporter pressed for a response, asking whether he would take the step if he won the Australian Open. The 24-year-old did not give a firm reply, simply saying it would be a good way to celebrate the achievement.
De Minaur rose to World No.12 in 2023, reaching his first ATP 1000 final. He also won his first ATP 500 title. He will look to continue building upon this momentum and draw confidence from his win against Djokovic to go deep into the 2024 Australian Open.
