Alex de Minaur lost out in the ATP500 Rotterdam final to Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday and promptly aimed a cheeky dig at the world No 3.
It was a case of deja vu for the Australian star after he also fell victim to Jannik Sinner in the title decider at the 2024 event.
Nonetheless, the 25-year-old has enjoyed a really solid start to 2025. In January, De Minaur reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open before succumbing to Sinner in straight sets.
His Melbourne heroics have teed him up nicely for the remainder of the year. De Minaur is yet to reach the semis of a tennis major but he is certainly improving and getting closer to beating the ‘Big Boys.’
The weekend’s efforts further highlight this and with one or two more tweaks to his game, it’s surely just a matter of time before he goes all the way and lands a Grand Slam title.
For now, those honours look to be shared amongst Sinner and Alcaraz. The pair have won the last five major titles and the duo have been the bane of De Minaur’s career in recent times.
Alex de Minaur on Instagram after the Rotterdam finals last year and this year 😂 pic.twitter.com/5qwqoWwg3A
— Daily Alcaraz (@alcarazdaily) February 10, 2025
Alex De Minaur Pokes Fun At Carlos Alcaraz
After navigating his way to a second successive Rotterdam final, Alex de Minaur was beaten 4-6 6-3 2-6 by the back-to-back Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.
It’s the third time the pair have met on court overall. Interestingly, the last time they faced off was in the final at Queens. The Spaniard won on that occasion, too.
In 2022, they first met on the ATP Tour in Barcelona. Alcaraz was the winner again which means the 21-year-old star has won all three meetings against De Minaur.
With that in mind, De Minaur saw his chance to playfully poke fun at Alcaraz. Posting on Instagram after the Rotterdam loss, the Aussie explained how he ‘didn’t like‘ the Spaniard.
Naturally, this was said in jest and it mirrored what De Minaur posted about Jannik Sinner last year. ‘I don’t like you anymore @janniksin (laughing face emoji) he posted.
Fastforward 12 months, De Minaur said: ‘Ahhhhhh I don’t like you either @carlitosalcarazz,’ adding two more laughing face emojis. He finished the post by saying how he’ll get the title ‘one day.’
