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Alex de Minaur's brilliant gesture for young fan as Katie Boulter shines after shock feat

The tennis couple are finishing their respective seasons on a high.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Alex de Minaur has once again proven why he is so popular with tennis fans as tennis star, and girlfriend, Katie Boulter stormed into the quarter-finals in Hong Kong after overcoming a worrying setback. De Minaur thought his chances of playing in the ATP Finals had faded after his shock loss last week, but Andrey Rublev crumbled in the first round of the Paris Masters to give the Aussie hope.

Rublev is the eighth-place player and suffered an extraordinary meltdown in the loss and de Minaur has set-up a clash with Jack Draper to determine if he overtakes the Russian to make the top eight. The Aussie defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 32 with Draper waiting in the next round.

Alex de Minaur (pictured) showed his class to greet his biggest fan while both he and partner Katie Boulter (pictured right) advanced in their respective tournaments. (Images: @RolexMasters/Getty Images)
Alex de Minaur (pictured) showed his class to greet his biggest fan while both he and partner Katie Boulter (pictured right) advanced in their respective tournaments. (Images: @RolexMasters/Getty Images)

However, Draper defeated de Minaur at the US Open quarter-final only a few weeks ago and has won seven matches in a row since the tournament. And while de Minaur is edging closer to a maiden birth in Turin, he was helped over the line from a special fan.

During Roland Garros, de Minaur super-fan Paul was invited on court to meet his idol. De Minaur stunned the tennis world when he spoke fluent French to the young boy with the Aussie winning over even more fans in Paris.

Paul was once again in attendance to watch de Minuar defeat Kecmanovic in Paris. And in a lovely gesture, de Minaur once again greeted Paul off-court to thank him for his support after the match. The Aussie once again showed off his French to Paul with the duo taking a quick photo.

A win over Draper in the next round would force Rublev to play a 250 event in the next few weeks if he wanted an opportunity to overtake the Aussie and play in Turin. De Minaur has never played the ATP Finals, with the indoor event set to take place in Italy from November 10-17. However, de Minaur has to avenge his loss at the US Open against a one of the most in-form players.

Draper reached a career-high ranking of World No.14 with his victory against Taylor Fritz. His win over the No.5 seed was a statement and de Minaur will have to find the level of tennis he was producing earlier this year to defeat the British star.

While Aussies are still waiting to find out if de Minaur will take part in the Davis Cup, fans were quick to praise the 25-year-old for his gesture towards the young fan amid a tight battle to reach the year-end tournament.

While de Minaur is pushing to extend his singles season for one more tournament, Boulter is playing her final singles tournament of the year and will finish as the highest-ranked British women in 2024. Boulter overcame a worrying collapse of nerves having served eight double faults to defeat Wang Xiyu and advance to the quarter-final in Hong Kong.

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The British star has struggled for form since Wimbledon, but has made sure she has finished her final singles tournament of the year on a high. She will then head to Malaga for the Billie Jean King Cup after Hong Kong. De Minaur and Boulter will enjoy an off-season together, but the duo were drawn against each other in next year's United Cup.

Australia drew Great Britain in the opening round of the mixed team event and if de Minaur and Boulter commit to playing, the duo could be on opposite sides of the court to start 2025. The Aussies will face the Brits and a yet to be determined third nation in Sydney for what is the third edition of the United Cup.

Alex de Minaur hits a backhand.
Alex de Minaur (pictured) has set-up a clash with Jack Draper at the Paris Masters.