Alex de Minaur is on the verge of a Top 10 breakthrough as he soared to a career-high ranking of No. 11 this week, the highest such position by an Australian man since July 2006.
De Minaur, 24, has tallied some strong results on the ATP Tour in 2023, which includes winning a maiden ATP 500 in Acapulco and reaching three more finals including at Masters level in Canada. With 40 match wins to his name, the Sydneysider stands just seven victories shy from last year's total win count.
But in terms of progress and breakthrough, 2023 is comfortably de Minaur's best year on Tour, and we may not even have read the full story. The 24-year-old is scheduled to appear in Shanghai and Basel before the end of October and potentially the Paris Masters at the start of November.
De Minaur isn't just gunning to make up the numbers at those aforementioned tournaments but to thrust his name among the eight best players at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin for the first time. For a player who began the 2023 campaign outside the world's Top 20, it would rank as a monumental achievement in his career.
De Minaur is 11th in the ATP Race, which is the same ATP ranking that he starts this week ahead of the penultimate Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. 2023 was expected to be Nick Kyrgios' year of redemption after his rebirth last season.
But injuries cruelly disrupted the much-maligned 28-year-old's plans. Up stepped de Minaur, a man notoriously quiet with his mouth, but loud with his feet. The ATP's workhorse is almost at break-even on his record against the Top 10 players this season (won six of his 13 matches against that cadre this year, after a paltry three wins from 11 in 2022).
And for the first time in 20 years, Australian tennis could be looking at a new Top 10 member in the next few weeks. And who would even dare to doubt a man who has made a living off proving people wrong?
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