Success on home soil isn’t the only thing motivating Alex de Minaur at this Australian Open. The top-ranked man from Down Under, through to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time, has financial motivations behind every match he wins.
He’s hoping to pad his and fiancée Katie Boulter’s bank account in support of their upcoming wedding.
With combined on-court earnings nearing $20 million before the Australian Open event began, the two tennis players won’t have to pinch pennies when it comes to their special day. But that doesn’t mean that de Minaur hasn’t been crunching the numbers of just how much the festivities will cost since the longtime partners got engaged in the offseason.
“When I’m on the court, and you see me so stressed out, I’m just thinking of the wedding budget,” he joked with former British pro and broadcaster Laura Robson, a good friend of the couple’s, after his 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over American Alex Michelsen in Monday’s fourth round.
“That’s why I’m like, ‘I need to win more money, I need to win more matches.’ That’s all that goes through my head. So now, you know what’s going on inside my head.”
Read more: Love pours in as Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter announce their engagement