Losing to eventual two-time champion Jannik Sinner is no disgrace, though Australia’s brightest hope faded during the business end of another Grand Slam tournament. Having fallen short at the final hurdle against Sinner’s closest rival Carlos Alcaraz in their Rotterdam showpiece, the 25-year-old is now battling a select few contenders as the sport’s third-best to another duopoly.
Alex aiming to continue breaking new ground
Alex de Minaur enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2024, reaching a career-high world number six ranking and it made sense the affable Australian was reportedly ‘fired up’ to build on that success with an even bigger 2025 campaign.
He clinched titles in Acapulco (500) and Hertogenbosch (250) last term, while making three Grand Slam quarter-finals and qualifying for the year-end ATP Finals, an increasingly difficult achievement to maintain with any consistency.
Although a hip injury curtailed a promising patch on grass last summer, de Minaur was right to highlight an ability to scale new heights with his tennis. Things only get harder from here, no matter how dilligently he works behind-the-scenes.
Alcaraz pipped him in three sets to clinch the Rotterdam crown this year, while Sinner was a straight-sets winner at his expense in the showpiece 12 months earlier.
Much had been said about his grim H2H record against Novak Djokovic and now, he’s got two more puzzles to solve – both younger than him – not going anywhere for the foreseeable future, adding new layers and further developing themselves.
Sinner is 10-0 in their H2H, Alcaraz now 3-0 and there’s a sense of inevitability about how the rest of the tour handles their moment against a one-two punch akin to the legendary figures steadily departing the sport in recent years.
After easing through four rounds at his home Major last month, including impressive victories over Francisco Cerundolo and Alex Michelsen once seeded opposition arrived, he was sharply second best against Sinner during their quarter-final.
His first serve isn’t anything to write home about, though being made to work increasingly hard for points behind your serve isn’t an ideal scenario against someone with the rally tolerance Sinner possesses. Outgunned in baseline exchanges and run ragged, combine the two and it’s easy to see how he lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in little over an hour 45 minutes on Rod Laver. Now what?
Before representing Australia at the United Cup in December, de Minaur told reporters: “I played some incredible incredible tennis, career-high six, end-of-year finals for the first time – but I still think I can do more. That’s what I want, what I’m working so hard for. Never satisfied. That’s what the whole training is for.”
Among his agemates and peers in the 25-30 range, only last year’s US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz can boast more year-on-year progression. Long-term longevity sees Olympic champion Alexander Zverev remain above both, as Casper Ruud and former world no. 1 Daniil Medvedev haven’t pushed on lately.
Andrey Rublev is a big name continuing to stagnate, while American pair Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul have their moments though remain inconsistent among the elite level. Elsewhere, the less said about an injury-prone, out-of-sorts Stefanos Tsitsipas right now, the better.
That means the younger crop behind them are given a free licence to breakthrough – Jack Draper and Ben Shelton chief among them – while de Minaur, as an undersized yet experienced contender on tour, has renewed confidence he can improve further.
Everyone knows about his blistering speed and highlight reel shot defence, though translating all of his strengths to match wins against opponents with bigger, more dependable weapons remains an arduous task. Only one way to find out.
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 