Newly crowned Sydney International champion Alex De Minaur has blasted Australian Open organisers for scheduling his first-round match on Monday afternoon.
The world No.29 broke through for his maiden ATP singles title on Saturday night with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) victory over Italian veteran Andreas Seppi.
It was a busy day for the 19-year-old rising star as he also defeated French veteran Gilles Simon, 6-3 6-2, on Saturday afternoon after the Sydney wet delayed their Friday semi-final.
De Minaur now faces a mad dash to Melbourne ahead of his first-round clash against Portugese world No.103 Pedro Sousa on Monday afternoon.
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Speaking before his breakthrough victory over Seppi having lost his two previous ATP finals, De Minaur accused Australian Open organisers of failing to look after the local contingent.
“I think they’re punishing Aussies for playing deep in their home tournaments, and I think that should not be what they should be doing,” he told reporters
“… They came out with the schedule before they even saw the halves or saw who was in the finals the week prior - I think that’s pretty poor.”
Despite his disappointment with the scheduling the teenage sensation heads to Melbourne full of confidence after breaking his duck in Sydney.
He came from behind in both sets, and the tiebreaker, against Seppi to cap an exhausting day and a memorable week in his home city.
