A glass ceiling has always hung above Alex de Minaur’s tennis career – but not of his doing.

There is an obsession with listing everything that de Minaur is not, and what he supposedly never will be. The problem for those repeatedly doing so, even as he continues to smash through, is that the man known as “Demon” takes great joy in proving his many critics wrong.

Alex de Minaur celebrates his fourth-round win over Alexander Bublik at the Australian Open on Sunday night.Credit: AP

“I know that there are a lot of people who don’t think I can do it,” de Minaur said a few nights back.

The world No.6 has never prescribed to the theory that it is counterproductive to be motivated by others. He accepts fuel from wherever he can get it, but is undoubtedly overflowing with self-motivation, too.

Those critics admire then dismiss de Minaur in the same breath, and he hears and reads a lot of it.

“Demon doesn’t have the weapons to beat the best,” is a common refrain. Another familiar one is: “I love Demon, but he’s just an Aussie battler”. There is also the lazy and equally condescending description........

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