Alex de Minaur pushes up rankings as he eyes ATP Tour Finals spot

A superb win by a fellow Aussie could help Alex de Minaur’s rollercoaster 2024 campaign end on a high note.

A convincing win at the Paris Masters has taken Alex de Minaur within one spot of qualifying for a debut appearance at the ATP Tour Finals in Turin next month.

The Australian star, who likely needs to make the quarter-finals in Paris to qualify for the eight-man event, advanced to ninth spot in the live rankings with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Argentinian Mariano Navone.

After a hip issue derailed his Wimbledon and US Open campaigns, de Minaur closed in on the career-high rank of No.6 he reached in July, within 125 points of No.8 Andrey Rublev and 260 points behind No.7 Casper Ruud.

Jordan Thompson celebrates after powering past world No.7 Casper Ruud in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. Picture: Julien De Rosa / AFP

Rublev self-destructed in a loss to Francisco Cerundolo, while Ruud was also eliminated on Wednesday by Australian world No.28 Jordan Thompson.

Thompson won 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 to claim his fifth victory in eight meetings against the Norwegian star, while Alexei Popyrin stared down former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini to win 7-5, 7-6 to make it three Australians in the last 16.

De Minaur will play Serbian lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic on Thursday morning AEDT with a chance to displace Rublev from the top eight.

Alex de Minaur is firming to play at the ATP Tour Finals in Turin and could be parachuted into Australia’s Davis Cup finals squad. Picture: Thomas Kronsteiner / Getty Images

On the back of a potential tour finals berth, de Minaur could also help lead Australia’s charge at the Davis Cup finals in Spain, but he was not picked in captain Lleyton Hewitt’s original squad.

There will be an Australian presence in Turin even if de Minaur does not qualify, with doubles stars Thompson, Max Purcell and Matt Ebden all locked in to play.

US Open champions and Wimbledon finalists Thompson and Purcell will play together, while Olympic gold medallist Ebden will join his longtime Indian teammate Rohan Bopanna in another title bid.