He's the ultimate roadrunner, sliding and sneaker-screeching across the court, chasing down every ball no matter the score. Molded by his mentor Lleyton Hewitt's never-say-die attitude, Alex de Minaur was destined to reach the top tier. Is it time for the Sydneysider to make his next step?
New Yorkers will remember the “Demon” posted a Round of 16 run at Flushing Meadows in 2019, which was backed up by a quarterfinal at US Open 2020. Three seasons of building up his armory, building up his mental fortitude ensued, culminating in a statement 2024.
The ultra-consistent 25-year-old has amassed a 39-12 match record so far, which started with three Top 10 triumphs on United Cup duty in January. In the quarterfinal de Minaur posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over No.1 ranked Novak Djokovic. Two titles followed in Acapulco and ’s-Hertogenbosch, as well as a career-high ranking peaking at No. 6 in mid July. On top of that de Minaur kept his name in the major conversation with quarterfinal journeys at both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
“I’m super proud of what I’ve been able to achieve this year," said de Minaur. "It’s been tough coming back from injury, but I’m so happy to be back here in New York playing these kinds of matches. Let’s keep it going.”
That aforementioned injury was a hip cartilage issue he suffered on match point in Round of 16 victory over Arthur Fils at Wimbledon. He was devastated, forced to pull out prior to a quarterfinal clash with Djokovic on Centre Court. De Minaur wasn't seen on Tour again until heading to New York. Robbed of such a huge match, having his momentum erased, de Minaur still dusted himself off.
The vast majority of players would sign up for that 2024, but the driven de Minaur is far from finished. Over to New York and the No. 10 seed outlasted Brit Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday night to advance to the US Open second week for the fourth time in his career. As a result, he's the first Australian man to complete the set of major fourth rounds in a calendar year since Hewitt 20 years ago.
“I’m super proud of what I’ve been able to achieve this year."
“It’s tricky, obviously, not playing tennis, not competing and not being around tournaments,” added the Australian, without a single hard court match in preparation. “There’s that aspect of it, but it was quite draining mentally. It was not an easy time for me. A lot of repeatedly feeling like I’m walking into a wall and just not getting better."
Australian tennis continues to flourish–which has been the case at Flushing Meadows. Alongside Alexei Popyrin, three green-and-gold men advanced to the Round of 16 of the US Open for the first time since 1988. The last two remaining are de Minaur, who faces his friend and Davis Cup teammate Jordan Thompson on Monday evening.
De Minaur leads their match record at 4-1. However, Thompson has been slowly but surely chipping away at his ranking to crack the Top 30 last month. His fellow Sydneysider dominated proceedings 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(5) across the net from No. 30 Matteo Arnaldi. Thompson is not to be underestimated.
“It is great that Aussie tennis, we’re just showing what we can do,” mused de Minaur. “We’re putting ourselves in the deep end of tournaments and look, it’s a good problem to have. It’s exciting. I’ve grown up with him and we’ve played many times. I’m expecting an absolute battle.”
Should de Minaur outmaneuver Thompson, then a maiden Grand Slam semifinal is a real realm of possibility in a clash with British youngster Jack Draper or world No. 39 Tomas Machac.
"I’m expecting an absolute battle.”
It will be fascinating to see how the Demon handles the heat as the man favored and now seeded to head into the Final Four. It feels like, especially as he's injury free, fresh without prolonged five-set rollercoasters, that the driven de Minaur is fiercely determined to make up for his Wimbledon heartbreak.
There's never been a time more like the present for this roadrunner to sprint towards the finishing line on the Grand Slam circuit.
