MELBOURNE: Alex de Minaur has been in excellent form recently, but after defeating Matteo Arnaldi in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, the 10th seed admitted that he is still not performing at his peak.
De Minaur, who overcame Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz in the United Cup team event, defeated Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3 to advance to the third round for the fourth year in a row.
While the Australian number one finally won comfortably on Wednesday, Arnaldi made him work hard in the first set, forcing him to save breakpoints twice to maintain his early advantage.
The 24-year-old also lost his concentration briefly near the end of the match, being broken by Arnaldi when leading 3-1 in the third set, but he rebounded strongly to secure the victory.
“I feel in a fantastic situation where, even if I don’t bring my A game, I still have a lot to offer. De Minaur told reporters that he had won enough matches this year to know how to win various types of matches.
“So far, I believe I’ve done everything necessary to win the matches. It hasn’t been the most visually appealing or my greatest level.
