After a turbulent week off the court, Alex de Minaur was again a source of refreshment as he vowed to let his tennis do the talking.
So much was made of the dramas surrounding Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios, that de Minaur quietly rolled into a clash with 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
De Minaur’s third round defeat to 2009 champion Nadal ended the 19-year-old Aussie’s Australian Open run, but the teenager was unbowed by the result.
Nadal was imperious as he cruised to a 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 22 minutes, but the loudest cheers were reserved for de Minaur as he embraced the applause from the crowd - and his champion opponent - as he left centre court.
Tennis is all that matters to de Minaur - as various countrymen try to tear each other apart, the young gun was happy to be “boring” in the face of media and public scrutiny.
"Well, at the end of the day, this is me. This is what you get from me,” he told reporters after his loss to Nadal.
"I like to just focus on my side of things, just try to do everything the best I can.
"There’s a lot of stuff that happens off court, but I think at the end of the day what I really want is to be that boring guy that lets his tennis do the talking, you know?
"I want everyone to know that I’m that kid that’s going to leave it all out there, fight till the end, and just continuously want to improve.
"If I’m that boring guy in the media, then I’m doing something right.”
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Australia's Davis Cup assault - skippered by Hewitt - was the subject of major conjecture when Tomic blew up following his first round defeat to Marin Cilic.
Many Australian players - from Kyrgios, to Alex Bolt, and Thanasi Kokkinakis - were probed on the drama. Some remained tightlipped, while others were more suggestive than they should have been.
It came to a head on Saturday after John Tomic revealed he will launch legal action against Hewitt, alleging the current Davis Cup captain in 2010 tried to intimidate then-teenager Bernard.
Away from it all, for de Minaur, the tennis really is all that matters, with Australia’s Davis Cup clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Adelaide next month his top priority.
Being outmuscled by Nadal in Melbourne proved to the teenager that there are still major steps to be taken, but he remained excited to get there.
"Now I’ve got to go back and get better," he said.
"I have plenty of areas to work on and improve. Just can’t wait to get out there on court and improve these little aspects.
“Hopefully next time around I can have a bigger crack."
