Alex de Minaur poised to emulate Lleyton Hewitt in 20-year first after huge ATP Finals boost

Alex de Minaur is on the cusp of becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to qualify for the ATP Finals after exacting revenge over his US Open conqueror Jack Draper at the Paris Masters. Draper was on a seven-match winning streak after claiming the biggest title of his career in Vienna last week, and also beat de Minaur in the US Open quarter-finals in September.

But the Aussie tennis star turned the tables on the Brit in Paris after coming from a set down to claim a crucial 5-7 6-2 6-3 victory that books his spot in the last-eight of the Masters event. More importantly, the win takes de Minaur - at least provisionally - into the eighth and final spot in the race to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.

The final eight-man field won't be decided until after next week's final qualifying tournaments in Moselle and Belgrade - where de Minaur will be top seed. But the 25-year-old - who has enjoyed the best season of his career after breaking into the world's top 10 for the first time in 2024 - is now in pole position to become the first Aussie since Davis Cup captain Hewitt in 20 years to qualify for the ATP Finals.

De Minaur's come-from-behind victory over the in-form Draper saw the Aussie move ahead of Russian Andrey Rublev into eighth place in the live race to Turin. But de Minaur insisted the job wasn't done yet and has his sights set on going on a deep run in Paris. “You can never say ‘job done’ in the middle of a tournament, that’s not in my DNA,” De Minaur said.

“Obviously I’m super stoked with the win today, but I will keep on doing my best and keep on trying to win more matches. It took every ounce from me and I am just happy I was able to rally. I’m going to put my body on the line, try my hardest, show my opponent that I can do that all day. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is a hell of a competitor, playing with so much confidence right now.”

Alex de Minaur could jump into sixth in ATP Finals race

De Minaur now trails sixth-placed Novak Djokovic by 165 points in the live race, with fellow ATP Finals hopefuls Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th) also still alive at the Paris Masters. Australia's No.1 men's player could jump ahead of Djokovic and seventh-placed Casper Ruud if he wins his next match and reaches the semi-finals in Paris. 'Demon' will face lucky loser Arthur Cazaux or Holger Rune for a spot in the last four.

It was a stirring victory for de Minaur, who has been battling to get back to top form and fitness after a hip injury that has hampered the back-end of his season. And things did not start well for him in Paris after Draper romped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening stanza before de Minaur started to find his range.

The Aussie rallied despite still losing the opening set but his energy and court coverage soon became too much for the Briton to handle. De Minaur reduced the 22-year-old Draper to smashing his racquet in frustration after breaking serve at the start of the deciding set, before finishing strongly to chalk up a career-best 47th victory of the year.

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It was also another important step towards de Minaur cementing his spot in Hewitt's Aussie team for the Davis Cup finals later this month. On a day featuring three Aussies in the last-16 at a Masters 1000 for the first time in 24 years, Jordan Thompson reached the last-eight of a Masters tournament for the first time with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) win over French veteran Adrian Mannarino. However, Alexei Popyrin couldn't back up his shock win over World No.5 Daniil Medvedev after going down 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to another Russian, Karen Khachanov.

with AAP