Alex de Minaur has been handed an unexpected boost heading into the Australian Open, leapfrogging Andrey Rublev into a top-eight seeding. However the massive news was tinged with sadness as fiancee Katie Boulter blew a chance to beat World No.1 Iga Swiatek on Thursday night.
De Minaur appeared destined to remain at World No.9 heading into the Australian Open, which would have meant missing out on a valuable top-eight seeding. But Rublev, who knocked de Minaur out of last year’s Australian Open in the fourth round, lost his first match of the year at the Hong Kong Open to Fabian Marozsan on Thursday night.
The shock 7-5 3-6 6-3 loss for the defending champ means the Russian will fall down one place in the rankings and send de Minaur up to No.8. The Australian Open seedings are based solely on the rankings, meaning de Minaur is assured of being in the top eight.
Crucially, it means the Aussie will be protected from having to face any other player in the top-eight at until at least the quarter-finals. De Minaur has never made the final eight at his home grand slam, but 2025 shapes as his best chance to break through.
There will be plenty of dangerous opponents looming, with the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsistipas and Tommy Paul all lurking just outside the top eight. But knowing he can’t meet any player ranked above him until the quarters will be a huge boost for the 25-year-old, who has been knocked out in the last-16 at the last three editions.
De Minaur has declared himself injury free after struggling with a hip issue ever since Wimbledon last year. The last Australian man to make the quarters in Melbourne was Nick Kyrgios in 2015. And Aussie legend Lleyton Hewitt reckons de Minaur is primed to go where he never managed to go and win the Australian Open.
“Absolutely,” he told AAP when asked if de Minaur can win the grand slam. “I’m just so happy for Alex to be back playing like he wants to play again.
“Only probably his close-knit team know exactly what he’s been dealing with (injuries) and how frustrating that’s been, and he still kept showing up and giving 100 per cent and not making excuses. So, for me, the last week or so that he’s been here in training and doing the hard work, it’s been great to see him being able to enjoy that pain-free and moving the way that he wants to.”
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Meanwhile, de Minaur would have been left heartbroken for fiancee Boulter on Thursday night after the Brit blew a one-set lead to lose to Swiatek at the United Cup. Boulter appeared destined to cause a huge upset when she won the first set against the five-time grand slam champ, but eventually went down 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 4-6.
Swiatek’s win gave Poland victory over Great Britain in their quarter-final clash at the United Cup after Hubert Hurkacz beat Billy Harris 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in the men’s singles. “I am just exhausted,” said Swiatek, who required a medical timeout in the deciding set. “This match was crazy, so many changes in momentum. I took four pain killers, a lot hurt, but happy we won.”
with agencies
