Alex de Minaur becomes first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt to break into top 10 following Alexander Zverev win in United Cup
Alex de Minaur created history at the Ken Rosewall Arena by becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt to break into the ATP top 10 while also keeping the Aussies in the hunt for a place in the finals of the United Cup.
The 24-year-old defeated Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 on January 6 to bring Australia level with Germany 1-1 in the semi-finals of the second edition of the mixed-gender international tennis event.
Angelique Kerber had earlier defeated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7) to give the Germans a 1-0 lead in Sydney. The winners will take on Poland in the finals on Sunday.
"What a moment! 24-year-old Alex De Minaur will become the first Australian player to reach the ATP Top 10 since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006. He beats Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and Australia stays alive at the United Cup semifinals. AUS 1-1 GER, mixed doubles to come!"
The win against Zverev was Alex de Minaur's third straight victory against a top-10 player after defeating Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the previous rounds of the United Cup.
The Sydney-born player thus became the first from his country to breach the top 10 since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2006. Hewitt is captaining the Australian side at the 2024 United Cup.
"Sascha is a hell of a competitor" - Alex de Minaur lauds Alexander Zverev after beating the German in United Cup semi-finals
In a contest that lasted over two-and-a-half hours, Alex de Minaur fought back to get the better of Alexander Zverev after the German took the first set in the semi-final clash of the United Cup.
The Australian, who last beat Zverev at the 2020 ATP Cup, had previously lost to the 26-year-old German six times. Speaking at the post-match conference, De Minaur asserted that he "hung in there" while also thanking the vociferous Sydney crowd for helping change the momentum of the game.
He was quoted as saying:
“I hung in there. Sascha is a hell of a competitor. He’s a hell of a player and he was just being too good for me."
"I managed to get out of jail a little bit in that second set, a couple of break points and then I just freed up a little bit and all of a sudden got a couple cheap errors from him late in the second set and all of a sudden the whole momentum changed, the crowd got behind and I just tried to ride the wave,” de Minaur added.
The mixed-doubles decider will be played later this evening to determine which team takes on Poland in the 2024 United Cup final. The Poles defeated France 3-0 to advance to the title round earlier on Saturday.