Australian Open 2024: Can Alex de Minaur finally end Aussies 48-year title drought
The favourite among his peers, Alex de Minaur has taken a stranglehold on the title of Aussie No.1, as the hopes of a nation desperate to end a 48-year Aus Open drought rest on his shoulders.
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Alex de Minaur is finally where he belongs.
The favourite among his playing peers has taken a stranglehold on the title of Aussie No.1 and absorbed all the hopes and expectations that come with it.
We have had weeks – not hours, like last year – to prepare for no Nick Kyrgios at Melbourne Park. His talents will be put to use off the court this month.
No, all of our eggs are firmly in the de Minaur basket. On his shoulders rest the hopes of a nation that is crying out desperately for a man to finally break its near-five decades-long drought – just as Ash Barty did on the women’s side in 2022.
Not since Mark Edmondson lifted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup in 1976 has a home grown talent tasted the ultimate success at the Australian Open. With each passing year the noise grows louder.
At this juncture 12 months ago, the big question hanging over de Minaur’s head was: Can he do it in a Grand Slam?
A deflating straight-sets defeat to eventual champion Novak Djokovic suggested he was not yet ready.
That same question remains ahead of this year’s Australian Open – and it will for as long as he boasts just one quarter-final berth in 25-and-counting Grand Slam appearances.
But this lead-in feels different. This time, he arrives with a trio of top 10 scalps in his wake: Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and of course, Djokovic.
Since the turn of the year no player has been as scintillating as the 24-year-old Sydneysider.
His ridiculous run of form through the United Cup catapulted de Minaur inside the ATP top 10 for the very first time and it’s from there he will mount the biggest and best Australian Open campaign of his young career.
He looms as our top title hope since Lleyton Hewitt, who captured Australia’s imagination with his run to the final in 2005.
De Minaur is also the first Aussie since Hewitt in 2006 to crack the top 10.
And the comparisons don’t stop there. Four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi has seen enough to declare him the second-coming of Hewitt.
“He defends incredibly well, just like Lleyton,” Agassi told this masthead.
“Lleyton I think raised the bar on what defence is in tennis.
“But he (de Minaur) transitions well, too. It’s not like once you get him behind he’s going to stay behind – if you leave anything hanging, he can turn that around and get offensive.
“He is a pleasure to watch. I’m convinced if I moved like him for an entire match just returning serve, I would start to cramp.
“The amount of energy he spends before he even plays a point just tells you what kind of athlete he is. He bounces around like he’s ready to run on water – his movement is remarkable, his competitive spirit is remarkable.
“It’s great to watch a spirit like his break into the top 10 and nothing suggests he can’t go further at this point.”
When your game is the envy of one of the greatest of all time, you are doing something right.
And yet for so many years, de Minaur harboured doubts. At least, that’s how it looked to one of his closest mates.
“For a while there I got the feeling he felt like something was missing against those real top-end players,” mused United Cup teammate and now-retired tennis star, John Millman.
“That’s what happens when you have consecutive losses to them, you start to doubt yourself. It’s pretty lonely, tennis. It’s one-on-one and you’re in your own head a lot.”
A crossroads came at the 2022 Australian Open, when de Minaur was ousted in straight sets by Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16.
Millman says he saw a player “trying to do too much … more than he was able” and it cost the young Aussie a place in the quarters.
“That for me showed a sign of not quite believing your game stacks up,” Millman recalled.
“But that has completely changed now.
“I think he’s starting to really believe, and that is half the battle. He always had plenty of belief against almost everyone, but against those top players at times he didn’t quite believe in himself.
“But with these wins that have been coming over the past 12 months, he’s building this reputation and belief inside of him.”
Millman was courtside throughout Australia’s run to the semi-finals of the United Cup. He watched de Minaur dismantle some of the best in the world, with a game that has grown since we last saw him Down Under.
“I’ve also noticed a few little changes he’s made to his game – he’s using his backhand slice a lot more effectively,” Millman said.
“And he’s using his forehand cross, getting it shorter and cutting the sideline which is really helping him spread his opponents. He’s also beefed up his serve a little bit.
“He’s always looking to add little elements to his game to make the breakthroughs against these top players and I think it’s coming to fruition now.”
The “Demon” has come a long way from the 15-year-old Davis Cup “orange boy” who first impressed Millman on the private grass courts of a prestigious Sydney club almost a decade ago.
Rising Aussie star Rinky Hijikata declared him “a role model and leader for us all” – a sentiment echoed by many of his fellow Aussies inside the top 100.
His girlfriend and fellow tennis star Katie Boulter this week said de Minaur’s dedication and self-belief had also inspired her.
But it’s been a slower burn for the Australian public, who have had the polarising profile of Kyrgios to cheer and jeer for, while de Minaur quietly did his work away from the spotlight.
The pendulum began to swing last summer, however.
De Minaur’s Round of 16 defeat to Djokovic pulled in a TV audience of 730,000 – the third highest figure for the tournament, behind only the women’s final (762k) and men’s final (1.32m).
It was the only night across the 2023 tournament that out-rated the previous year’s totals, though it still fell short of the 886,000 people who tuned in to watch Kyrgios’ second-round loss to Daniil Medvedev in 2022.
Millman believes de Minaur deserves headline status at this year’s tournament after being left in awe of his young compatriot’s willingness to give everything he has to his country.
“Alex in the Australian market has kind of flown under the radar for a while, even though he’s been the top-ranked Aussie for the last few years,” said Millman.
“I think because of Nick’s persona he has generally grabbed all the headlines … but internationally, Alex is (highly regarded).
“I think everyone looks up to him. That comes naturally when you’re the top-ranked player, but it’s his actions too.
“Alex is the guy you can rely on. He’ll always put his hand up and he’ll compete for every point. You know that’s an absolute guarantee.
“But he’s also very open to his fellow Aussies. He’ll hit with the boys in his preparation – not because he’s giving you a handout, but because he genuinely wants to see the guys improve.
“In my time of need when I was travelling during Covid … I was living in hotels and court bubbles because we couldn’t come home due to quarantine measures. The only way I could escape was by going to someone’s place.
“Alex and his family took me in now and then during the year when I could go to Spain. They really helped me out when mentally I was having a really tough time on tour.
“That kind of summarises what Alex is about. He’s an incredible tennis player but also a good human being. He wants to look after his mates. He wants to be there to support them.
“I hope people see that. It’s no surprise we’ve made the Davis Cup final the past two years and Alex is continually improving and climbing the rankings.
“I hope we can get his story out there a little more, because every Australian should be rooting for Alex this Australian Open and all the Australian Opens to come.
“Not only is he extremely talented, he has also worked extremely hard to get to where he is. I think that sums up the Aussie persona, of just giving it a crack.”
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