Alex de Minaur has played against all of the ‘Big Three’, but the Australian believes Roger Federer has the best brain in all of tennis.

De Minaur is flying high at sixth in the world, having reached the quarter-finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open during an impressive 2024.

Billed as a future Grand Slam winner himself, De Minaur was quizzed on which players he’d pick to build a ‘perfect ATP tennis player’ ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Federer took the prize for having the ‘best tennis brain’, but there was no place in his ATP hybrid for Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

“Best tennis brain?,” the Australian pondered. “I’m gonna go with Roger [Federer].”

De Minaur was asked about what other parts of his opponent’s games he’d use to build the dream player, with the 25-year-old going with Juan Martin Del Potro’s forehand, David Nalbandian’s backhand and current world No.1 Jannik Sinner’s power.

There were very few surprises with his answer for serve though, as De Minaur kept a straight bat – or racket – and opted for fellow Aussie Nick Kyrgios.

It comes ahead of a big year for 2025, who despite impressing in 2024, did struggle with injuries at times.

So much so, that he was forced to pull out of the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati.

Commenting ahead of the 2025 season, De Minaur stated: I’m feeling great.

“It was a tough year dealing with that, so I’m glad that I can finally put it on the backburner and forget about it.

“I’ve felt very good in this off-season and this pre-season. We’ve put in a lot of work and the body is feeling very comfortable.

“I’ve done my best [over the break] to relish my achievements this year. There have been a lot of highs and lows dealing with injuries at the same time.

“More than anything, it’s given me a lot of hunger and fuel to drive for bigger and better things. This whole pre-season, I’ve been motivated because I want more and I want to strive for bigger and better things.”

De Minaur kicks off his 2025 campaign with the United Cup in Perth and Sydney next week, with the 25-year-old having been drawn against recently engaged fiance and member of the Great Britain side, Katie Boulter, in the group stage of the mixed-gender event.