Alex de Minaur is careful not to be seduced by his top-eight Australian Open seeding, saying it guarantees nothing.
While going in as the eighth seed adds to de Minaur’s growing confidence, the 25-year-old says there are too many land mines littering the Open draw to take too much from it.
His high seed means the Australian will not be drawn to play anyone ranked above him until at least the quarter-finals.
It adds to growing expectations and excitement around de Minaur, seen as the best local chance in the men’s singles draw since Lleyton Hewitt made the 2005 final.
“It is a good feeling going in. Obviously I have to worry about what happens on my side of the court and focus on myself,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“It kind-of means you’re somewhat protected. If you’re looking at the grand scheme of things, you won’t play a player ranked higher than you until a certain stage.
“It is better than the alternative, but at the same time, it means nothing. Nothing is guaranteed.
“You still have to beat everyone, everyone is extremely dangerous, it’s very open out there and anything can happen on any given day.”
While de Minaur has fallen at the fourth round in the last three Australian Opens, he went on last year to reach the quarter-finals at the other three grand slam tournaments.
He feels a different player compared to 12 months ago, especially after overcoming the hip injury that forced him out of the Paris Olympics.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself, I’ve been extremely proud of my efforts throughout, especially the end when I wasn’t feeling physically at my best,” he said.
“I learned I could still do a lot with my game and the confidence I had gained from the start of the year really helped me out.
“I feel like I’m a different player than I was last year, a better version of myself. I just want to keep improving and keep showing what I can do, day-in and day-out, and hopefully the results will come along.”
Being the top local hope means more attention and demands on de Minaur’s time.
He joined compatriot and Australian Open wildcard entry Ajla Tomljanovic on Tuesday morning in the Melbourne CBD for a promotion with Open sponsor Wilson.
“You know it coming in – this lead-up week is always a little bit more stuff going on than normal,” he said.
“But you are at your home slam, so it’s kind of expected. At the same time, I’m feeling really good about myself … I’m almost wanting the Open to start already.”
The Australian remains unsure whether he and British fiancee Katie Boulter will enter the Open mixed doubles draw.
“Mixed doubles is so much fun. It’s just difficult when you know that singles is the priority for both of us,” he said.
“We don’t want to do anything that will jeopardise our singles results, whether it is a little bit of fatigue from spending more hours out on court.
“If it is something, it will be a last-minute decision.”
