On the face of it, this was just an exhibition tennis match against a friend, amid champagne corks popping in an intimate arena, with absolutely nothing riding on it except perhaps a bit of Sydneysider bragging rights.
But Alex de Minaur reckoned it was much more than that.
Indeed, he felt his 6-3 6-4 victory over Alexei Popyrin in a duel between Australia's top two tennis men at the now-traditional pre-Wimbledon Boodles invitation event on Thursday was just the pick-me-up he needed after his grass-court plans went awry.
