Well beyond his rookie days but not yet a veteran, Alex de Minaur finds himself in the prime of his career. At 26 and nearing 300 match wins, the Australian No. 1 and nine-time ATP Tour champion aims for a long-term return to the Top 10 and deeper runs into Grand Slam tournaments.
“I’ve got the experience now. I’ve got the knowledge, the physicality side of things. Everything is just there for me to go out and perform,” De Minaur stated at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where he is seeded seventh. “I can really have a swing these next three or four years and really show that I’m at my peak and break through some barriers.”
De Minaur returns to Washington, D.C., for the first time since 2022 with an opportunity to re-enter the PIF ATP Rankings Top 10 before the US Open. Last year, he reached his third consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final after strong performances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
The player has no points to defend during Washington and upcoming tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati; he missed this period last year due to a hip injury sustained at Wimbledon. “It was somewhat difficult at the start of the year and mentally taxing knowing that I had zeros on my ranking because I missed three Masters [also Shanghai],” De Minaur remarked.
De Minaur cherishes memories from Washington – both on court and off. In 2018, ranked No. 72, he made an unexpected run to his first ATP 500 title match before losing to Alexander Zverev.
“I think that was the last time I won a match here,” he quipped about subsequent opening-round losses in Washington following his breakout in 2018.
He also fondly recalls exploring Washington with electric scooters: “I actually love the city here in Washington… saw everything from the White House to all other unbelievable monuments,” he said.
De Minaur enjoys spending time with fiancée Katie Boulter, who competes at a joint ATP/WTA event: “I’ve always wanted to come back… it does make it a lot better having Katie around,” he noted.
In his first event since reaching Wimbledon’s fourth round, where Novak Djokovic rallied past him despite De Minaur winning the first set decisively, De Minaur expressed determination: “We should have been in a fifth set… those are matches I need to start winning.”
With 30 wins this season, De Minaur is positioned well for one of seven remaining spots at November’s Nitto ATP Finals after qualifying last year for the first time. He challenges himself further by aiming for over 50 wins this season: “That’s the goal… Twenty more wins? I think it’s do-able.”