De Minaur: Racing To His Turin Debut
by Arthur Kapetanakis
In the countdown to the Nitto ATP Finals (10-17 November), our series, 'Towards Turin', will showcase qualified players and their path to the prestigious season finale.
Anyone across the net from Alex De Minaur knows they are in for a fight. Never out of a point or a match, the Aussie’s ultra-competitive tennis this season also meant he was never knocked out of contention for the Nitto ATP Finals.
As he famously said after winning Acapulco in 2023 — a title he defended this season — he’s got a lot of heart in his 152-pound body.
A fixture in the Top 30 of the PIF ATP Rankings since 2019 and year-end World No. 12 last season, De Minaur has found an even higher gear this season to earn his Top 10 debut. Ranked as high as No. 6 in July and currently eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the Aussie has now also secured a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
De Minaur will join Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev in competing at the 2024 edition of the prestigious season finale. So just how big a step forward has De Minaur taken this year en route to securing his Turin debut?
DE MINAUR'S 2024:
THE LEVEL-RAISER
De Minaur first cracked the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings in 2018. The bulk of his time since 2019 has been spent inside the Top 30, though it was not until last season that he enjoyed a prolonged stretch in the Top 20. After finishing the 2023 season at World No. 12, the Aussie earned his Top 10 debut this January by beating three members of the elite club — Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Zverev — in the space of five days at the United Cup. In doing so, De Minaur became the first Aussie to join that exclusive group since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
"A hundred per cent, I felt the difference from going from 11 to 10," De Minaur told ATPTour.com. "One spot, it seems insignificant, but I have definitely felt a big change. I think a lot of the players on Tour know how difficult it is to get to that stage, so ultimately they give you a lot of their respect, which you have earned through hard work, dedication and winning a lot of matches.
"It definitely brings a different aspect to my game and now stepping out on court I feel like there is a little bit of a target on my back, but at the same time, I’ve got some of that confidence that I know that I have earned my position."
INSIGHTS:
SUPREME ON THE STEAL
De Minaur this season played just 20.3 per cent of his shots in attack, by far the lowest rate of any Turin contender. But the indefatigable Aussie does not need to be on offense to win points.
When it comes to winning points from defence, De Minaur is top among the Top 10. He wins 38.5 per cent of points in which his opponent gains an attacking advantage, good for second this season on the ATP Tour according to Tennis Data Innovations.
The Aussie also excels on return, where his 7.15 shot quality (out of 10) ranks sixth. Equally effective from both baseline wings, De Minaur’s backhand shot quality (7.47) comes in at 16th on the season, while his backhand shot quality (7.72) ranks 26th.
De Minaur at the Rolex Paris Masters. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
De Minaur at the Rolex Paris Masters. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
THREE PEAK PERFORMANCES
1) Grand Slam Consistency:
Having reached just one major quarter-final before this season, De Minaur produced his best season at the majors in 2024. After beginning with his third straight fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open — matching his best showing at his home Slam — he rattled off three straight quarter-final showings in Paris, London and New York. His biggest win at the Slams was a fourth-round win against Medvedev at Roland Garros. Forced to pull out of Wimbledon with a hip injury ahead of what would have been a quarter-final showdown with Djokovic, De Minaur returned just in time for the US Open, where he extended his quarter-final streak.
"I am very pleased that I have improved in that aspect," said De Minaur. "That was one of the goals coming into the season, to go out and play better and get deeper in the biggest tournaments, which at the end of the day are Grand Slams, and put myself in that position. Three quarter-finals this year. I wasn’t able to play one of them [at Wimbledon]. And [at the US Open], I wasn’t as healthy as I would’ve liked to be. But great stepping stones in the right direction.
"I would say [I am most proud of] the US Open for sure. With all the different things I was dealing with, I thought it was a very good effort to put myself in that position. And I was extremely proud of that effort."
Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
2) Back-To-Back In Acapulco
De Minaur became the first player to win consecutive titles on the hard courts of Acapulco, earning a trophy mark in early March to put an exclamation point on his strong start to the 2024 season. Competing as a newly minted Top 10 player, the third seed defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals and Jack Draper in the semis before downing Ruud in a 6-4, 6-4 final. Late in the title match, De Minuar played one of the points of the tournament: Showing no signs of fatigue in his fifth match of the week, he showcased his speed and impenetrable defense by running down balls in all four corners of the court to “steal” one from his Norwegian opponent.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
3) Smooth Sailing
In ‘s-Hertogenbosch
De Minaur clinched his third multi-title season with a dominant run on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he did not drop a set in four victories at the ATP 250. Competing as the top seed at an ATP Tour event for the first time, the Aussie lived up to his billing. He saved his best performance for last — a 6-2, 6-4 result against Sebastian Korda — to win his second grass title.
Photo by Sander Koning/ANP/AFP via Getty Images.
Photo by Sander Koning/ANP/AFP via Getty Images.
MILESTONE MOMENT
You’ve got to beat the best to be one of the best, and that’s exactly what De Minaur did to earn his Top 10 debut this January. Playing for Australia at the United Cup, the home nation’s leading man propelled his team to the semi-finals with wins against Top 10 stars Fritz and Djokovic, both in straight sets. While the Aussies could not get past Germany in the semis, De Minaur notched a comeback win against Zverev for his third Top 10 scalp on the week.
Sydney was a fitting locale for the milestone moment, with the victory against Zverev clinching De Minaur’s Top 10 breakthrough. As an 18-year-old in 2018, De Minaur announced his arrival on the ATP Tour by making his maiden final in Sydney. One year later, he lifted his first tour-level title on the same court.
"The start of the year is so important and being able to get those Top 10 wins so early in the year just put yourself in the right direction and gives you a lot of confidence and a lot of belief knowing that you can do that," reflected De Minaur. "Getting those wins early puts you a step forward and gets you that belief to keep on doing it and shows you the way forward to hopefully keep on doing it for the rest of the year. I feel like I did that."
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