Alex de Minaur may have finally found someone just as passionate as he is.
The Australian’s classy moment with a young superfan is going viral after his hard-fought third round win at the French Open on Sunday morning (AEST).
The Demon has now launched a public plea to track down the young fan after he helped spur the 25-year-old to a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3 comeback win over Jan-Lennard Struff.
Advancing through to the last 16 for the first time at Roland Garros, de Minaur openly praised the young fan for helping him to reach the finish line in a rain-interrupted match.
The young fan was seen on the TV broadcast roaring and pumping his fists every time de Minaur won a point and the Aussie was seen turning towards the young fan and pumping himself up after big points in the match.
After shaking hands with his German opponent and the chair umpire, de Minaur went to the young fan on the fence and gave him a hug.
“That young lad was there from the very first point till the last with five hours of rain delay,” de Minaur said.
“He was this little kid that every single change of ends, every single point I won, he was screaming at my face. I’m looking at him and thinking if I was a fan, I would probably be back home, because it was bloody cold out there.
“I don’t understand what this kid was doing, but, oh, he gave me life. Every single change of ends I’m looking at him, locking eyes with him. I just gave him a hug. Mate … it was a relief more than anything. It was amazing. I appreciate this kid.
“The fact that he’s spent 10 hours at the court today in the freezing cold pumping me up, I was happy that I was able to get a win together with him.”
Video of the hug has gone viral with one version shared by the French Open’s official account being viewed by more than 600,000 times.
De Minaur took to Instagram and Twitter after the match to ask for help trying to track the young fan down.
“I need to find the name of this legend!!! Message me on instagram, I need you for the next round,” de Minaur wrote on Twitter.
According to Reuters, de Minaur went on to say: “I would have given him everything in my bag. I just wasn’t thinking straight with the emotions. But he deserved everything. Rackets, shoes whatever he wanted.”
De Minaur will face fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.
Medvedev defeated Tomas Machac 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.
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“It was a very hard match,” said Medvedev.
“I’m happy I stayed consistent despite some tough moments in the third set.”
— with AFP
