Alex de Minaur served up dangerous Open draw

Alex de Minaur’s first-round opponent at the Australian Open is Milos Raonic. A dangerman through and through.

Australia’s Alex de Minaur. Picture: Getty Images

Good and bad news for Alex de Minaur. He’s in a decent section of the draw.

Looks promising for an extended run at the Australian Open. And yet his opening match puts a knot in the stomach. Has danger written all over it. Nobody wants to play the human cannonball that is Milos Raonic. The serve is a monster’s ball.

The Canadian’s first delivery has been clocked at 250km/h.

The fourth fastest in history. He’s 196cm and 98kg of forehand power. A nightmare to play against because rallies only last a couple of thunderbolt shots. Rhythm is nigh impossible. He routinely hits 30-plus aces in a five-set match. Wins 91 per cent of his service games. The third-best percentage, and therefore serve, the sport has ever seen.

Years ago, Raonic hit serves to Australian cricketer Steve Smith at Melbourne Park. Hilarious. Smith was struck on the body umpteen times. He looked ready to run for the hills or call for a helmet, beaten for pace for one of the few times in his career. Raonic is a former world No. 3 who’s been to places de Minaur has only dreamt of.

A Wimbledon final and Australian Open semi-final. It’s no gimme to get off the mark but as the 10th-seeded de Minaur says until he’s bluer in the face than the courts at Melbourne Park, “I love proving people wrong.”

Raonic quit the sport in 2021. He told his nearest and dearest, “I’m done,” declining to formally retire but stacking on weight and declining to pick up a racquet for a year. The 33-year-old has returned as one of the most dangerous floaters in the Open field and it’s de Minaur’s who’s copped him. It’s an OK draw in that Raonic is past his prime and yet blokes like this, they know how to win.

They lift for a big occasion. The monster’s ball has beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Playing Australia’s hometown hero on a marquee court will get Raonic’s juices flowing. Which will get the monster’s ball and forehands humming. Demon should win comfortably and yet it’s a devilish assignment. Raonic returned to the ATP at last year’s Libema Open in the Netherlands.

Knocked over fifth-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic in his first match in two years. Blew him off the park after losing 20kg for the comeback. “I like to compete. I’m very competitive,” Raonic told reporters at the time. “I’m just happy I’ve put a lot of time into tennis over the years. I’m pretty good at it and I can compete. The tennis part is kind of the easiest part.”

Then Raonic hammered 37 aces past Frances Tiafoe in an upset of the ex-top 10 American at the Canadian Masters in August. The danger for de Minaur is real but he’ll relish the opportunity to punch above his weight.

Steve Smith and Milos Raonic having a hit at Melbourne Park in 2017. Picture: Michael Klein

He’s in scintillating form and will be pumped. A raucous crowd will be behind him.

At 183cm and 69kg, he’s heard for a decade how he’ll never succeed in the land of the giants. Here’s his chance to take one down. Rounds 2 and 3 are extremely winnable. Problems arise in week two. A likely fourth-round opponent is Russia’s World No. 5 Andrey Rublev.

Waiting in the quarter-finals is likely to be de Minaur’s nemesis, Italy’s World No. 4 Jannik Sinner, who leads their head-to-head 6-0 and demolished the Australian 6-3, 6-0 in the Davis Cup final in December. Monstered him.

Smith on the receiving end.

We could end up with a Djokovic-de Minaur semi-final but we’re getting way, way, way ahead of ourselves there.

There was a gasp in the room at Melbourne Park when the women’s draw was published. The first four names on the sheet were World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, ex-Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, three-time major champion Angelique Kerber and firebrand American Danielle Collins, who was pipped for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup by Ash Barty in 2022. The winner of the ding-dong battle between Swiatek and Kenin will face the winner of the ding-dong battle between Kerber and Collins. Two of those four esteemed players will be packing their bags and heading to Tullamarine Airport before round 2 even begins.

Australia’s unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic gets Petra Martic and then probably 11th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko. Naomi Osaka’s much-hyped majors comeback is against 16th-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.

Kazakhstan’s second-seeded Elena Rybakina starts against ex-World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. That’s a tough draw for Rybakina but I reckon she’ll get through – and then win the tournament. Alongside Sinner. Unless de Minaur proves us all wrong.