WTA: Daria Gavrilova: Alex de Minaur as a role model and great goals for 2019

The big breakthrough of the Daria Gavrilova did not take place so far. Her compatriot Alex de Minaur is now to serve as a good example for the young Australian.

Daria Gavrilova was praised as a new child prodigy at an early age. However, the great success of the whirlwind is still to come. One title (Connecticut 2017) seems too little for the 24-year-old so far.

This is expected to change in the coming year. Gavrilova sees her compatriot Alex de Minaur as a good example of this, who, at just 19 years of age, has played his way to 31st place in the world rankings. The crowning finale of the NextGen star’s fable season was at the NextGen Finals in Milan, where he reached the final and narrowly lost to the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Gavrilova wants this consistency in the game for the upcoming season. “Last season I watched de Minaur a lot and I was impressed with how the spectators supported him all the time. He really plays great tennis,” explained Gavrilova at SBS News.

At the major tournaments it didn’t want to work for number 36 of the world yet. Gavrilova is still missing the big victory, especially in front of his home crowd at the Australian Open. Here, the 24-year-old failed above all because of better-placed players – this should also be avoided in the future.

“I want to compete more against the top players. My goal for the coming year is to play bigger tournaments and meet top players. In addition, I would like to come to a major in the second week, that has not yet worked,” Dasha admits fiercely.

The Australian distinguishes herself on the field above all by her temperament and her fast legs. The 1.66-meter woman compensates for the lack of body size with an enormous fighting spirit and a high running workload. Gavrilova will be able to play to her strengths at the season opener in Brisbane, where the fighter nature will celebrate its season opener.

The chance of a duel with a top-10 player is great: Seven of the top-10 ladies have signed up for the season-opening tournament. The field will be led by Elina Svitolina (WTA Ranking 4), Naomi Osaka (WTA Ranking 5), Sloane Stephens (WTA Ranking 6) and the world number seven Petra Kvitova.