Alex De Minaur has grown fond of Britain through his relationship with girlfriend Katie Boulter but is gunning to lead Australia to victory in Davis Cup on Wednesday.
The likely match-up between world number 12 De Minaur and British number one Cameron Norrie at Manchester’s AO Arena could well be crucial in determining who gets off to the perfect start in this week’s group stage.
Born in Sydney, De Minaur has also spent a lot of his life in his mother’s home country of Spain, but his passion for Australia burns brightly, particularly when Britain are the opponents.
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“There’s years and years of history of rivalry between the two nations,” he told the PA news agency.
“With Katie, I’ve got to spend a little bit more time here in the UK and I’ve been able to get to know a couple of the Brits a little bit better.
“We always give each other a little bit of crap if our nation wins. It’s always a great competitive spirit between us.
“Katie’s shown me around. I’ve found a lot of spots that I quite enjoy so it’s been great, especially when the weather’s good. There’s a lot of similarities with Australia.
“A big thing for me is coffee. They love their coffee here as well, the breakfast places are kind of the same vibe. And one thing that I didn’t have growing up in Australia or Spain is the countryside. I’ve grown really fond of the greenery.”
De Minaur is Australia’s ace in the pack and arrives in Manchester in the best form of his career having reached his first ATP Masters final in Canada before making the fourth round of the US Open to climb to the brink of the top 10.
Among the 24-year-old’s victims in Toronto was Norrie, extending his run of victories against British players to eight from the last nine matches.
De Minaur played down the significance of that result, saying: “I think Davis Cup is completely different. Every time we play it’s been a battle, even when we practise it goes one way or the other.
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“It’s always going to be a toss up but I’m looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I can lift my level and play some good tennis.
“I’ve played some great tennis over the last couple of months and I’m really happy with where my level is at. It’s going to be a very good test this group stage, a lot of very good players. Hopefully I can bring it all together and perform.”
De Minaur is the highest-ranked player in Manchester but there are decisions to be made for both British captain Leon Smith and Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt over who joins him in the tie.
Norrie has struggled for the past few months and has a patchy Davis Cup record but it would be a surprise if he does not play, with Dan Evans, Andy Murray and 21-year-old Jack Draper also in contention.
Evans is favourite to partner Neal Skupski in doubles, where Australia have former Wimbledon champions in Matt Ebden and Max Purcell.
Purcell could well get the nod to play singles after shooting up the rankings this season from outside the top 200 to 43, while Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis are Hewitt’s other options in the absence of the injured Nick Kyrgios.
In Britain’s favour will be the home crowd. The event has been well-promoted and around 8,000 people are expected for Wednesday’s tie and Friday’s meeting with Switzerland, while Sunday’s clash against France has sold out and will be played in a front of more than 13,000 fans.
“It’s great, ultimately that’s what Davis Cup is about,” said De Minaur. “We’re going to play the Brits in front of their home crowd so rightfully they’ll have amazing crowd support and it should be a great environment. I’ll be very happy to be a part of it.”
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Australia certainly have reason to feel they are the favourites given the form of their players and their run last year, when they made it all the way to the final before losing to Canada.
Asked if they can go one further this time, De Minaur said: “That’s the dream. Last year gave us a lot of hunger and fire and desire to really be able to accomplish this as a team.
“I think we showed what a team can do when they have each other’s back because on ranking we weren’t supposed to be a contender. We came together and we showed what it meant to play for Australia.
“We’ll do everything we can to do that but it starts here, we’ve got a very tough group and we’ve got to try and get out of here alive.”
The top two teams from the group will move on to the finals week in Malaga in November.
Osaka makes winning return at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka claimed a straight sets victory over Clara Burel in the first round of the Italian Open.
Making her first appearance in Rome since 2021, former world number one Osaka prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 on Wednesday, marking her first win over a top-50 opponent on clay since she defeated Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2019.
Osaka, who is now ranked 173rd in the world by the WTA, will face Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
She previously faced Kostyuk in the 2020 US Open, en route to winning her third major title.
Data Debrief: Back with a bang
Osaka reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in 2019, but did not win a game in 2021 and has not appeared at any other edition since then.
That means the 26-year-old won her first match at the event since she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu in 2019 (1,819 days ago). She wrapped up the win in one hour and 24 minutes, finishing with 27 winners, including eight aces.
Winning Olympic medal 'equal to Grand Slams', says Gauff
Coco Gauff believes winning a medal at the forthcoming Paris Olympics would be "equal" to winning a Grand Slam.
The world number three was forced to miss the Games in Tokyo three years ago after testing positive for COVID-19, and is eager to sample the "once-in-a-lifetime experience".
The tennis events will be played on the clay of Roland Garros, where Gauff will be bidding for a second major title at the French Open later this month.
And the reigning US Open champion is looking forward to competing, though she admits her preparations will be unprecedented.
"For me, the Olympics is a top priority. I'd say equal to the Grand Slams," Gauff told reporters at the Italian Open, where she will face Magdalena Frech in the last 64.
"I wouldn't put it above or below just because I've never played before. This is my first time. Obviously, I always want to do well, try to get a medal. But the preparation is going to be interesting, because I've never done the grass to clay transition before.
"I'm not putting too much pressure on it because I really want to fully indulge in the experience. Hopefully, I can have it many times in my lifetime. I'll treat it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Before that, Gauff is focused on getting ready for the French Open, where she was runner-up to world number one Iga Swiatek two years ago.
The 20-year-old will step up her preparation at the Italian Open this week, aiming to build on her run to the round of 16 at the Madrid Open last time out, where her run was ended by compatriot Madison Keys.
"For me, it's just about serving better than I did last week," she added. "I feel the other parts of my game are improving. If I can work that through, I think it'll set me up for a very good Roland Garros."
Madrid champion Swiatek keen to maintain level at Italian Open
Iga Swiatek will not rest on her laurels after overcoming Aryna Sabalenka in last week's Madrid Open final, pledging to learn from that gruelling battle ahead of the Italian Open.
Swiatek toppled Sabalenka in an enthralling battle between the world's top two players on Saturday, saving three championship points en route to a 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) win in over three hours on court.
The world number one has now won every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher, including back-to-back triumphs in Rome in 2021 and 2022.
As she prepares to open her Italian Open campaign against either Caroline Dolehide or a qualifier on Friday, Swiatek is determined to ensure she does not let her level drop.
Speaking during an appearance on the WTA Insider Podcast, Swiatek said: "I feel like after such a match, I deserve a two-month vacation, but I can't have that so I'll trade it for six tiramisus or something!
"I can let it go and rest and just forget about it, or I can really take a big lesson from it, so it depends on what is going to happen in the next few weeks in terms of how I analyse it."
Swiatek's latest win – her seventh in 10 meetings with Sabalenka – saw her put further distance between herself and the world number two in the WTA rankings.
However, the four-time grand slam champion knows she cannot afford to let up, given the fierce competition on the WTA tour.
"I'm not thinking about Aryna when I'm practising, but it's more that I know that the competition is big and if I stop for a while I might be pushed out," Swiatek said.
"But I had this kind of thing in Rome 2022, with the final against Ons [Jabeur]. Physically, I was so tired. The rallies were long, Ons was playing a pretty tricky game.
"So after that game for the next few years, when I was doing the worst practices on court and I was dying, I was thinking about that game."
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