MELBOURNE: Daniela Hantuchova has urged Alex de Minaur to treat his high stakes clash with Alex Michelsen as if it were a first round match as Australia tries to roar the Demon home on Monday night.
Mark Edmondson has said de Minaur is capable of emulating his giant killing feats from 1976, the last time an Australian won the men's singles title on home turf.
Eighth seed de Minaur is the hot favourite against Michelsen, a 20-year-old American ranked No.42 in the world who had never made the third round of a grand slam before, let alone the fourth.
Watch the Australian Open live & free on the 9Network & 9Now. Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match ad-free, live & on demand with centre court in 4K
Alex Michelsen of the United States celebrates winning against Karen Khachanov. Getty
But the Californian has a destructive, fearless quality to his game and thrashed de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 on a hard court at the Los Cabos Open in Mexico last year.
The Australian got emphatic revenge soon after with a 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 rout on clay at Roland Garros.
"The only danger I would say at this stage of the tournament for Alex is not to get maybe carried away with the expectations and the fact that he is playing incredible tennis," Hantuchova said on Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily.
LIVE UPDATES: Australian Open 2025, day 9 results and highlights
"And we all are starting to think 'OK, he can really go almost all the way.' So just trying to zoom that noise out and almost having like that first round attitude when you go on the court, don't really know what to expect.
"It's almost like a new big start and and just really use the crowd in your advantage, and I think that should be enough."
Slovakian great Hantuchova knows how to make a deep run in Melbourne, having reached the semi-finals in 2008.
Alex de Minaur of Australia celebrates a point against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. Getty
Should everything go to script at Rod Laver Arena, de Minaur will likely face world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.
Defending champion Sinner is due to play Holger Rune on Monday afternoon.
Swing freely, Hantuchova tells the 25-year-old from Sydney.
Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia interacts with Laura Robson of Great Britain. Getty
"I think it's definitely the approach, especially at the early stages of your career, that you should have," she said.
"Because in a couple of years' time, you won't be able to say 'oh, I have nothing to lose, I can just go out there and enjoy myself.'
"I wish I would have appreciated more, the early stages of your career when you can do that. So he definitely should just embrace the moment, but you shouldn't go on the court if you don't believe you can win the match. Just enjoy the crowd."
Michelsen is close friends with fellow California hot shot Learner Tien, who will play Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round on Monday.
The pair train together, play Fortnite together and, along with Ben Shelton, represent a bright future for American men's tennis.
Michelsen has upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 19th seed Karen Khachanov in Melbourne.
Marcos Giron – who lost to Sinner on Saturday – regularly hits with both.
"They play differently, but both are great," Giron said of Michelsen and Tien.
"The court awareness. Super accurate off both forehand and backhand. Can redirect. Can come up to the net. Have great hands. They're allrounders."
