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De Minaur hailed by tennis star girlfriend

Ian ChadbandAAP
Katie Boulter reckons her boyfriend Alex de Minaur will one day grab the tennis spotlight.
Camera IconKatie Boulter reckons her boyfriend Alex de Minaur will one day grab the tennis spotlight. Credit: AP

Alex de Minaur's long, successful day at Wimbledon has ended with the Australian No.1 being offered a heartfelt public vote of support, love and pride from his tennis star girlfriend.

De Minaur's accomplished first-round victory over Hugo Dellien, unexpectedly played on Wimbledon's No.1 court, proved only his first tennis duty on Tuesday.

He was later spotted in the late-evening gloom in the court 18 seats, cheering for Katie Boulter, the rising Brit who's been his other half for more than a year.

And after she'd also won her opener against France's Clara Burel, Boulter, around whom there's plenty of hype and excitement at Wimbledon, paid a lovely tribute to de Minaur, explaining why he was both her rock and inspiration.

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"Yeah, he's a pretty good boyfriend. He made it out to court!" smiled Boulter.

"He's someone I have a lot of admiration for on and off the tennis court.

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"He is the epitome of a fighter, who goes out and gives their all every single day. That's what I aspire to be like. It really helps me because I can push myself; he helps me do that.

"I'm a very lucky girl."

"He is probably one of the hardest-working guys out there.

"I'm very lucky to be in the position I am, that I get to see it day in, day out. I have so much respect for what he does."

Asked if she felt the low-key de Minaur would one day get his reward for all that effort and talent, she concluded: "Without a doubt.

"I mean, he's got the game for it. We've seen him play many incredible matches against top players. He can beat them.

"Ultimately, those are the matches that are going to give him the spotlight.

"I know the work he puts in will give it to him."

De Minaur certainly looked in good nick after being left flummoxed in late morning when his match against Bolivian Dellien was switched from Court 18 to No.1 as organisers needed a new high-profile match there following Matteo Berrettini's withdrawal with COVID-19.

It was de Minaur's first match back on Wimbledon's 'second stage' since 2016 when he'd lost to Denis Shapovalov in the boys' final - but this was a 6-1 6-3 7-5 redemptive winning return.

"Kind of a weird day. You wake up, come prepared for one thing and then all of a sudden you're moved to Court 1, so there was a little bit of adapting needed on a windy, swirly day," de Minaur said.

"But you always want to play on the bigger courts, and it was good to get out there - special court, full crowd, quite exciting..."

Then, after booking a place against British hope Jack Draper, in the second round, it was off to cheer Boulter - and it was obvious de Minaur's admiration for her tennis, as well as her fighting spirit after overcoming injuries, is quite mutual.

"She's had a lot of injuries, a lot of time off but I think she's back where she belongs," he said.

"She's had an incredible season, beaten a lot of top girls so I think now she's got Wimby here, her home slam, hopefully she can go out, enjoy herself and keep doing as well as she's been doing - and I'll try to get out there to watch her!"

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