The first player to announce his arrival at Lib\u00e9ma Open is none other than tournament winner Alex de Minaur.<\/p>
The world number 6 will try to defend his title. ‘I am very much looking forward to coming to Lib\u00e9ma Open again. It is a tournament I have played many times and I have always enjoyed being there. It’s the perfect start to the grass season. Hopefully I will play well again this year and be able to defend my title.’<\/p>
De Minaur enjoys coming to the Netherlands. ‘I feel at home here. I also played the Windmill Cup as a junior. In the past, I often managed to play my best tennis in the Netherlands and achieved good results. Besides, I love stroopwafels although my team won’t let me eat too many of them, haha.’<\/p>
The 25-year-old Sydney player is now a stable top10 player and travels all over the world. ‘It’s quite tough as an Australian player on tour. I’m always far away from home. Only at the end of the year I return to Australia. That’s why it’s important to surround myself with good people otherwise it’s very hard to keep up.’<\/p>
Last year, De Minaur grabbed the Lib\u00e9ma Open title without surrendering a set. In June, the nine-time ATP tournament winner will return to defend his title.<\/p>
‘It is not easy to defend a title. There is more pressure than in any other tournament, because you have an extra target on your back. Moreover, there are also a lot of ranking points to defend. Of course, every year is different, but in the back of my mind I know I performed well here.’<\/p>