Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson and Nick Kyrgios spoke to the media at the Australian Open 2025 on Friday.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 10 January 2025 | Sean Ahern
Australian men’s tennis is in a good position with three seeded players competing in the Australian Open for the first time since 1982.
Australia’s top seed frontrunner Alex de Minaur will be looking to continue his upward trend as a player this week in Melbourne.
“Every time I come here to the Australian Open, I feel like I’m in better shape than I was the year before,” the eighth seed said at the AO 2025 media day on Friday.
“I learned so much. I’m playing with a lot more confidence. “I’m doing all the right things.”
Despite all the pressure and attention on the 23-year-old, his preparation has not changed.
“My job is essentially to go out on the court and do my best to win tennis matches,” he said.
“There’s still the same preparation. We are so lucky to have such a great team around us to focus on in our own little bubble.”
Returning to the Australian Open for the first time since 2022, Nick Kyrgios was confident about the depth of the Australian men’s game.
“I mean, men’s tennis in Australia is incredibly strong right now, we have a lot of players,” Kyrgios said.
While praising De Minaur – “I truly think he is a threat at any Grand Slam or any tournament he plays” – Kyrgios believes he too can still compete with the best after being away from the game for the better part of 18 months.
“I have always had the utmost confidence in my abilities. “If you play my style of tennis, unpredictability, everyone will have a chance,” he said.
“This is the mindset we need to have about these people.”
25th seed Alexei Popyrin, seeded for the first time at the Australian Open, is not yet focused on getting past the third round at Melbourne Park.
“We’re trying to get over the three-round hump,” he said.
“We’re trying to get through our second week here for the first time. That’s the main goal for this year.”
After a breakthrough season in 2024, particularly at the end of the year in which he won his first Masters 1000 title in Canada and beat Novak Djokovic at the US Open, Popyrin credited the Paris Olympics with sparking his latest appearance.
“Everything went smoothly, starting with Montreal after the Olympics,” he said.
“It just clicked and everything felt good when we were on the court. I kind of knew what I was doing.”
And 27th seed Jordan Thompson, who was seeded for the first time at the Australian Open, believes his Grand Slam seeding has helped him expand his game across the court.
“The mentality on the court… I’m trying to be more aggressive,” he said.
“I’m trying to utilize every aspect of the game to get points. Try to move forward towards the net as much as possible. I have to use my speed and volleys to my advantage.”
Thompson, who combined doubles and singles to great success in 2024, believes playing doubles has improved her singles game.
“In singles, especially when you come back, you feel like you’ve fallen into the ocean,” he said.
It’s an exciting time to be a tennis fan in Australia with 14 local men set to compete in the main draw.
