After 10 long months, slogging through 20 tournaments in 10 different countries, battling against a debilitating injury while winning 47 of 63 hard-fought matches, Alex de Minaur has at last got his just desserts.
He will go, for the first time in his ever-improving career, to the big end-of-season ball, the ATP Finals in Turin.
The Australian No.1 finally got the good news on Tuesday as Novak Djokovic’s announcement that he was withdrawing from next week’s showpiece ensured de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud were all guaranteed the last three places in the eight-man tournament at the Inalpi Arena.
It could not have been more timely relief for de Minaur, who immediately then announced his withdrawal from the Belgrade Open, where he was due to play on Wednesday in a final quest to nail down enough points to ensure qualification.
Instead, Djokovic’s decision has spared him the trouble of a nail-biting final scrap with Rublev and Ruud, and given him, mercifully, a much-needed four-day break after three straight weeks of competition in Europe when, in truth, he’s not looked quite at his sharpest following the hip injury that’s dogged him since Wimbledon.
And what an opportunity awaits ‘Demon’.
Djokovic’s withdrawal, citing an injury, means the championship will be without any of the ‘big three’ of men’s tennis – Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal – for the first time in 23 years.
But it will also mean there’ll be an Australian man gracing the top-eight showdown for the first time in 20 years since Lleyton Hewitt got to the 2004 final and was beaten by Federer.
“I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week,” Djokovic, the Finals’ record seven-time winner, wrote on social media, without explaining any more details.
“Apologies to those who were planning to see me.”
The eight-man, week-long tournament begins on Sunday with the two round-robin groups draw being made on Thursday.
There will be, of course, no easy matches for the world No.8 with Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz making up the rest of the field.
De Minaur has a winning record against Ruud (2-0), Rublev (4-3) and Fritz (5-3), losing ones against Medvedev (3-6) and Alcaraz (0-2), and woeful ones against Zverev (2-8) and Sinner (0-7).
The money is mind-boggling. There’ll be a prize fund of $US15.25 million ($A23.11 million), with the singles champion having the chance to earn a record-breaking $US4.8 million ($A7.3 million) — the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour — if he can triumph without losing a match.
For de Minaur, the great news about his own flourishing career came just the day after he put his name to the newly-branded Australian Junior Tour, which will now be known as the De Minaur Junior Tour.
It’s part of the Sydneysider’s commitment, alongside Tennis Australia’s, to nurturing the country’s future tennis stars.
He’s working with the governing body to establish a scholarship program designed to support high-achieving juniors, ensuring they have the resources and mentorship they need.
“I’ve been fortunate to have learnt so much from my mentors over the years,” said de Minaur.
“I want to pass on the knowledge I’ve gathered throughout my journey and help young Aussie athletes to improve and become the best version they can be.”
THE ATP FINALS FIELD:
World No.1 – Jannik Sinner (Italy)
No.2 – Alexander Zverev (Germany)
No.3 – Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
No.4 – Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
No-5 – Taylor Fritz (USA)
No.7 – Casper Ruud (Norway)
No.8 – Alex de Minaur (Australia)
No.9 – Andrey Rublev (Russia)
