2 weeks Ago
The absence of Novak Djokovic from the last Masters tournament this year has raised Alex de Minaur’s hopes of ending a 20-year drought for Australians at a prestigious event to be held in Turin next month. Seeking to become the first Australian since dual-champion Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to qualify for the ATP Tour Finals, de Minaur can secure a spot in France this week if he can find the form that saw him reach three grand slam quarterfinals in succession this year. The 25-year-old sits in ninth place in the tour race with a fortnight to go in the season and has joined compatriots Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson in the $11.
3 million Paris Masters. Watch every ball of Australia v Pakistan ODI Series LIVE & exclusive to FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1.
Limited time offer. A quarterfinalist and semifinalist in Europe since returning to the tour this month, the Australian No.1 will play Argentinian Mariano Navone in the opening round in Paris-Bercy.
Only eight players qualify for the Tour Finals and the Australian currently trails the 8th positioned Andrey Rublev by 165 rankings points, while Casper Ruud is 300 points in front of the nine-time ATP Tour title winner. But De Minaur, who credits a win over Daniil Medvedev in Paris two years ago as the catalyst for his drive into the world’s top 10, is well-positioned for an alternate spot at worst despite the injury woes that have restricted him in the second-half of the season. “Now it’s crunch time.
Every match counts. Every single point counts,” de Minaur said in Vienna last Friday. “I am going to do my best.
I haven’t played enough tennis this year (because) I have been sidelined for a while. So (I have) plenty of energy and plenty of fight in me. I am going to make sure I give it my all every time I step out on court.
” The world No.10 would reel in Djokovic, a seven-time ATP Tour Finals champion, should he reach the semifinals in Paris and can also rein in Rublev and Ruud by outperforming them in Paris-Bercy, where he was a quarterfinalist last year. Even if he fails to fire in Paris, the prospect remains he will participate in the Tour Finals given the conjecture surrounding the appearance of Djokovic in Turin.
The defending champion, who reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, said in September he will concentrate on majors and Davis Cup duties in the dotage of his remarkable career and has withdrawn from the tournament in Paris this week. “I am not chasing ATP Finals. I am not chasing the rankings.
As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career,” he said in Serbian, as reported by Tennis Majors. “Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now. My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams.
Everything else is less important.” Hewitt, who will be hoping de Minaur is able to join the Australian team for the Davis Cup Finals despite not initially being named due to his hip injury, won the ATP Tour Finals in 2001 and 2002 before falling to Roger Federer in the 2004 decider in Houston. He said at the United Cup draw last week that he was keeping a close eye on the Australian No.
1 and was mindful that he was still to reach peak fitness given the hip complaint that forced him out of the Montreal, Cincinnati and Shanghai Masters. “He’s still giving himself a chance for Turin and obviously the Davis Cup Finals if he’s up for it. A lot depends over the next month,” Hewitt said.
De Minaur aside, the Paris Masters is also important for Thompson, who will partner Max Purcell in the ATP Tour Finals in doubles next month prior to Davis Cup Finals duties in Malaga. The Sydneysider is seeking a grand slam seeding for the first time in his career at the Australian Open in January and currently sits 29th in live rankings. He did himself a favour in regards to ticking off that career milestone with a 6-4 6-4 win over Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the opening round in Paris and will do de Minaur a bigger one if he is able to defeat world No.
8 Ruud in the second round. The pair have split their six outings to date, with Thompson a straight set winner in Tokyo in September in their most recent meeting. Montreal Masters winner Popyrin will play former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the first round.
.
