Alex de Minaur will be eyeing an extra special Christmas gift for his girlfriend Katie Boulter after he collected a huge cash windfall for winning the UTS Grand Final in London.

The rebranded format dreamed up by coaching guru Patrick Mouratoglou enjoyed its most successful event to date as 21,500 fans packed into London’s Copper Box Arena for the 2024 UTS Grand Final, with the flashing light, blaring music and fast-paced action on the court serving up an intoxicating mix for their in attendance.

De Minaur’s comprehensive win in the final against Holger Rune saw him master a version of the game that sees players handed just one serve, use bonus cards to boost their score and deal with a noisy backdrop around the court that is very different compared to what they are used to at regular tour events.

UTS is also proving to be a lucrative event for the players invited to take part, with world No 6 De Minaur winning a huge £625,241 for his three days of work at the UTS Grand Final.

That compares to the £375,000 De Minaur won for his run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July and represented his biggest prize money windfall of his career for a single event.

“It was a perfect weekend in London,” declared De Minaur. “Couldn’t have asked for any anything better. I played some great tennis.

“Every match was tough, was physical, and came out on top. So extremely happy with the performance.

“Just worked hard. I’m in the middle of my preseason. So, you know, it felt like I was feeling quite good physically with those extended rallies.

“Maybe that was something that was able to help me in the end against my opponent.” Obviously, London’s almost like a second home to me. I’ve enjoyed it so much throughout the years.

“The crowd was great. It was a packed crowd. It was electric. It was loud singing. There was a bit of everything.

“So as a player, that’s all you can ever ask for and it felt great competing in this atmosphere.”

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De Minaur also revealed some of his Christmas plans with partner Boulter, who is the current British No 1 tennis player.

“I will be back in Australia by Christmas Day,” he added. “Before that, I will be having an early Christmas as in London with my family and Katie’s family.

“Katie is cooking and she is a great cook, so I’m looking forward to eating a lot of food.”

Defeated finalist Rune confirmed he is a big fan of the UTS format, as he also took home a huge slice of the tournament’s £1.67 million prize pot.

“I think the court really works for me, I enjoy playing this format,” said the Dane who is given the ‘The Viking’ when he plays in a UTS event.

“I’ve made two finals, and I’ve only really played two times. I mean, I played in Norway also, but I had to pull out with an injury.

“So I think the formula is good for me because I feel like we get to play a lot from this baseline, which I also like, but I also like to finish the point a little bit.”

“I think this makes it, you know, super entertaining for the crowd and for tennis fans as well, so you know, and for us players, it’s cool to play because there’s so many fun elements, you know, to play around.”

The next UTS Tour event is set to be place in France next April, with Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev and Rune among the players set to take part in a clay court version of a format that is gathering in momentum at an impressive pace in the crowded tennis calendar.

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