UTS Grand Final: De Minaur overwhelms Rune to lift trophy in London

“It was a perfect weekend here in London,” he said after the match. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I played some great tennis, every match was tough, was physical, and came out on top, so extremely happy with the performance.

“It was amazing, amazing to play here in London in Copper Box. The crowd was great, it was a packed house, it was electric, it was loud. There was a bit of everything. As a player, that’s all you can really ask for, I enjoyed competing in this atmosphere.”

De Minaur walks away almost $800,000 richer on Sunday, bagging prize money of $421,800 plus a $375,000 Grand Final Bonus.

Rune unable to keep pace with De Minaur’s defence

The Demon and The Viking had already met in the round robin of Group B earlier in the tournament, with De Minaur winning the match 3-1 (12-13, 21-6, 17-7, 25-5). While Rune talked a big talk about exacting revenge for his loss, this match followed a very similar template to the final three quarters of their earlier clash.

Ruen was largely the aggressor, hitting big off both his forehand and backhand and targeting De Minaur’s backhand through their rallies. However, the Australian’s speed and defensive prowess meant as much as Rune was on top in a lot of points, he would be able to dig balls back that seemed to be going for winners.

“I just worked hard,” De Minaur later explained. “I’m in the middle of my pre-season, so it felt like I was feeling good physically in those extended rallies. I think that was something that helped me in the end against my opponents.

More often than not, extended rallies would end in a Rune error, as the Dane attempted to go for more and more on his shots so the ball wouldn’t come back. Other times, De Minaur showed off his exceptional hands at the net, regularly converting Rune’s searing passing shots into deftly struck drop volleys.

Having lost a long rally, the difference in each player’s fitness was apparent in the following points, with just a 15-second turnaround between serves. De Minaur would continue to play his game, while Rune was evidently tired. The Viking would often spray three or four quick errors in a row after a long rally, regardless of whether he won the point or not.

“This format is almost built for him really,” Rune said.

“The serve doesn’t play a big role, so we kind of have to rally for each point, which is excellent for him because he’s one of the best out there from the baseline. Plus when it comes to stamina and cardio, he’s also one of the best, so it’s a really, really big challenge.

“It was tough against Alex. I did my best, but credit to him, he deserved it.”

The Australian was also excellent when it came to his navigation of bonus cards in the championship match, winning two of his three, and neutralising two of Rune’s three for an overall success rate of 67 percent.

His serve and return stats were impressive too, winning 61 percent of his own serve, but also coming out on top 58 percent of the time on return.

The result was a reasonably one-sided match, and even though Rune had his moments and was able to rally the crowd at times with some exceptional shot-making, De Minaur was in control throughout, extending his winning streak to six quarters in a row over The Viking.

“At some point in the match, it was very difficult not to sing along with the songs,” declared De Minaur afterwards, who received great crowd support from the Australian contingent in London.

“I think there were a lot of the Aussies in the crowd, felt a lot like home

“It definitely has been the best season yet, I don’t think it’s going to be the best season of my career. I want to keep on improving, keep on being better.

“I want to use everything I’ve learnt this year and put it towards 2025.”