Alex de Minaur to receive top eight seeding at Australian Open

After Australia’s disappointing early elimination from the United Cup, Alex de Minaur woke to some good news on Friday.

Australia’s great hope Alex de Minaur will have the best possible path to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park after a key rival’s unexpected loss gifted him a top-eight seeding.

de Minaur moved back into eighth place in the world rankings after Russian star Andrey Rublev suffered a surprise first-round defeat to no. 58 Fabian Maroszan at the Hong Kong Open.

The three-set loss cost Rublev his place in the top eight and handed de Minaur, who he eliminated in the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open, a golden opportunity to reach the final eight.

A shock first-round loss to Andrey Rublev in Hong Kong meant the Russian lost his top-eight spot to Alex de Minaur ahead of the Australian Open draw. Picture: Timothy Clary / AFP

The Australian star reached a career high of no. 6 after he made the quarter-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, but has never advanced past the fourth round in Melbourne.

He will not face an opponent seeded higher than him until at least the quarter-final after Rublev’s defeat, with next week’s official ATP rankings to determine the seedings.

de Minaur won his United Cup singles tie against Great Britain’s Billy Harris 6-1, 6-2 before Australia was eliminated in a mixed doubles decider on Wednesday night.

He was disappointed for the team not to advance beyond the group stage, but said he had “goosebumps” after feeling he had returned to his physical best following a persistent hip issue which plagued his back half of 2024.

Alex de Minaur says he’s ‘got his legs back’ after a convincing win over Britain’s Billy Harris at the United Cup on Wednesday. Picture: Saeed Khan / AFP

“This was the old me. “I’ve got my legs back, everybody. I’m back,” the 25-year-old said after the match.

“I struggled with an injury that sidelined me and took away one of my biggest assets, which was my movement.

“It took me a very long time to get back, and it was safe to say it had been a long time since I’d felt my feet moving as quickly as they did today. Doing all that without pain was a really good feeling.

“It gave me some goosebumps because it felt good to finally be back at that level.”