Tennis legend’s bold de Minaur prediction

De Minaur and Ajla Tomljanovic will headline team Australia for the United Cup, with the host nation drawn alongside defending champions the USA and Great Britain in Group C in Perth.

The 18 nations will compete in Perth and Sydney, with the full schedule to be released on Tuesday, but de Minaur faces a potentially awkward situation, with girlfriend Katie Boulter leading the charge for Great Britain.

The tournament structure includes one men’s and women’s singles match for every tie, with the pair a chance of playing each other in the mixed doubles.

“It could be the end of a beautiful relationship,” Masur joked at the draw announcement in Sydney.

“It will be interesting how it plays out because Matt Ebden and Storm Hunter are there, so we’ve got plenty of options for the mixed doubles.

“Alex might be in a situation where he plays three sets against Cam Norrie and maybe it’s not in his best interests to back up and play the mixed.

“Alex playing Boulter would add a bit of spice.”

De Minaur will have guaranteed matches against Taylor Fritz and Cam Norrie just weeks before the Australian Open begins, with the speedy 24-year-old eyeing off his best finish at his home grand slam.

He made the fourth round in 2022 and 2023 but is ready to take the next step according to Masur, who says de Minaur has grown in confidence since he beat world No.3 Daniil Medvedev in Canada earlier this year.

“That win helped him a lot because he was very good at beating the people he should beat, but he was struggling to beat the very best. That win gave him the belief that he could do it,” he said.

“The big thing is that he’s marrying up his personality, which is to be pretty aggressive, with his physique, which is probably to be a counter-puncher where he uses his opponent’s pace.

“He’s coming in to his best years now. Will he do better than the fourth round at the Aus Open? He absolutely will.

“I’ve known Alex since he was 12 and I’ve always thought he was this smaller guy punching above his weight.

“He’s a funny guy because he’s got the personality to be aggressive but he’s got the physique to be more of a counter-puncher.

“It seems to me that he’s almost the marrying the two now and he’s striking a balance between the two.

“He’s 13 in the world right now, but he’s going to do some damage, not only at this event.”

Matching it with the top players is the final step for de Minaur, who has the fitness and the belief to compete with anyone on tour.

His power game has been questioned in the past, but Australian tennis great Mark Philippoussis has noticed more aggression from de Minaur that will hold him in good stead if he faces heavyweights Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.

“Of course he can contend at the Australian Open,” Philippoussis said.

“First of all, he needs to get through the first week. Best of five sets is a different animal to three sets.

“Best of three sets, you’re going to see a lot of the top players lose certain matches that you don’t expect them to lose, but best of five is a different thing.

“To beat a top player three out of five sets, physically and mentally trying to stay with them is a different thing. That’s why you’re seeing Djokovic and Alcaraz who are animals and they’ve had the years that they’ve had.

“He’s got the mentality and the physicality, but he’s got to be a bit more aggressive, which he has been doing.”

Originally published as ‘Could be the end of a beautiful relationship’: The awkward obstacle Alex de Minaur must overcome ahead of Aus Open charge