Australia was up against it in the United Cup semi-finals on Saturday but Alex de Minaur has fired back to claim a must-win match against Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Not only did de Minaur level Australia’s tie against Germany and keep the host nation’s United Cup hopes alive but he also booked his spot in the ATP Top 10 with the win.
He became the first Australian player to achieve that feat since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
“It’s what I worked so hard for,” de Minaur told Jim Courier.
“It’s another milestone, but it doesn’t finish there. Job’s not done. We keep on improving. We keep on trying to get better, and I’m going to enjoy this Aussie summer, that’s for sure.”
The win was de Minaur’s third consecutive over a top-10 opponent, having previously defeated Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
“I’ve said it before, but every time I step out on court here, it feels special,” added de Minaur.
“This [Ken Rosewall Arena] is my favourite court in the whole world.”
“Every time I step out here, I get goosebumps. I love being here, and I’m very grateful for all the support.”
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De Minaur did it the hard way on Saturday night after struggling to find a way to combat the power of Zverev, who hit eight aces on the way to taking the first set 7-5.
But it was a different story in the next set as de Minaur started to hit more clean winners in groundstroke rallies with Zverev to take the second and force the match to go the distance.
De Minaur then carried the momentum into the third as he secured an early break, hitting angles to make Zverev move around and eventually force the German into an unforced error.
Jim Courier said in commentary that “frustration was mounting” for Zverev, who was throwing everything he could at de Minaur but finding no success.
It was an interesting contrast to the first set of the match, where it seemed like a frustrated de Minaur just couldn’t find his way through Zverev, who was clinical in his approach.
A confident de Minaur was leaning into his emotions too after commentators noted he looked “flat” early in the match, letting out a roar after ripping out a forehand winner down the line on his way to consolidating a 4-2 lead in the third set.
The break earlier in the set proved decisive in the end as de Minaur eventually served out for the set and the win.
“De Minaur does it for Australia… in true Alex de Minaur fashion,” Todd Woodbridge said in commentary.
“Grit, determination, spirit and a severe will to win. That will be a match and a moment that he will remember for a very long time.”
“Dreams were built here for de Minaur. 12 years of age, he’s been practising on the outside courts, dreaming of winning major tournaments and championships, playing for Australia. It’s all come together with a famous victory here.”
“It’s unbelievable, really,” added Courier.
“Alex, he was getting outplayed… he somehow was able to survive that really big challenge in the fifth game of the second set. He saved three break points.
“It was a 13-minute game, and then from there, he started to find ways to get mistakes out of Sasha Zverev especially on the forehand swing. It was disciplined, it was gritty. I would say it was a classic de Minaur experience.”
De Minaur’s victory came after Ajla Tomljanovic fell short in a three-set epic against Angelique Kerber.
Tomljanovic made the perfect start but the former World No.1 Kerber showed her class to claim the final two sets — and the match — 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), securing her first win since Wimbledon in 2022.
Australia will now put its faith in duo Storm Hunter and Matt Ebden, who close out the night’s action against Germany in the doubles.
While De Minaur understandably has dominated the headlines, Hunter and Ebden are the only Australians to remain undefeated in three ties at the United Cup.
That is particularly important given de Minaur and Tomljanovic both dropped their matches in Australia’s opening tie against Great Britain while the latter then went down to Team USA’s Jessica Pegula.
In other words, Australia wouldn’t be in this position in the first place if it was not for Hunter and Ebden and they may be called on again to save the day late on Saturday night.
HEARTBREAK FOR TOMLJANOVIC AS KERBER WINS EPIC
Earlier, Alja Tomljanovic went down to Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).
Kerber put the pressure on Tomljanovic early as she secured a break on the first game of the opening set, which went to four deuces.
Tomljanovic though responded in perfect fashion after dropping her opening service game and she found success with the backhand to break right back.
The Australian then held serve and broke Kerber two more times on the way to opening up a 5-1 advantage.
Tomljanovic almost broke Kerber once again to take the first set 6-1, surviving five break points to force four deuces, before eventually double faulting to see the former World No.1 stay alive.
It looked like it would be short-lived but Kerber showed her class to quickly hold serve before breaking Tomljanovic once more in a stunning turnaround after the Australian’s early dominance.
Tomljanovic, to her credit, recovered from the shaky finish to break back and secure the first set 6-4.
Kerber though wound back the clock to claim the second set 6-2, immediately breaking Tomljanovic while shortening the length of some of her service games.
It left Tomljanovic looking visibly flat while a fired-up Kerber appeared to have all the momentum heading into the decisive set.
That proved to be the case as Kerber immediately broke Tomljanovic once more on her opening service game of the third set.
The Kerber forehand continued to cause all kinds of problems for Tomljanovic, who was hitting a few ferocious shots of her own but a re-energised Kerber was returning with plenty of fire and precision.
As hard as Tomljanovic tried to work her way back into the match it looked like she was in desperate need of a slip-up from Kerber and the former World No.1 provided it as she committed a double fault for the first time in the match as the Australian broke back.
Tomljanovic though put herself in the position to score the crucial break after winning a 25-shot rally to open the eighth game of the third set.
It was just that kind of match where just as Tomljanovic appeared to be getting back on top Kerber would respond with an incredible shot of her own.
Thus, it was fitting that the third and decisive set would go to a tiebreak and in the end it was Kerber who saved match point twice to come out on top in a gruelling thriller.
“Ajla played an amazing match,” Kerber said.
“We both played at a really high level. It is so great to see her back as well after the injury last year. For me, it is the first win after coming back and it is really a great feeling.
“I just tried to play as many matches as possible before going to Melbourne. I tried to learn as well from the last three matches and coming out here and winning now… it is such a tough battle.
“It means a lot to me. It is great to have a match like this before going to the Australian Open.”
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EARLIER: POLAND INTO FINAL AFTER SWEEP OVER FRANCE
Four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek and teammate Hubert Hurkacz swept top seeds Poland into the United Cup final on Saturday with a hard-fought victory over France.
Hurkacz, at a career-high nine in the world, defeated left-hander Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-5 in Sydney before world number one Swiatek toppled Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
They will play either Alexander Zverev’s Germany or hosts Australia in Sunday’s mixed teams competition decider in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
It is the first final for Poland, who lost at the semi-final stage last year to eventual champions the United States.
“I’m happy that I came back and I didn’t make so many mistakes as in the first set,” Swiatek said. “For sure, Caro was putting pressure as usual, so I’m happy that we’re through to the final.
“Sometimes it’s a bit hard to point (to) one thing that changed (after the first set). I just feel like I needed to calm down a little bit and not rush it,” she added.
Garcia was France’s saviour in their 2-1 win over Norway in the quarter-finals, coming through a titanic struggle against unheralded Malene Helgo, then backing up to win in mixed doubles.
She again displayed her fighting spirit in breaking Swiatek for a 4-3 lead and taking the first set in 43 minutes.
But that was as good as it got for the world number 20, who folded as Swiatek moved through the gears to dominate the rest of the match Swiatek grabbed the momentum back in the second set, surging to a 5-0 lead before converting her third set point at 5-1.
A break to love in the opening game of the deciding set deflated Garcia, with Swiatek largely untroubled as she raced to the finish line.
A steady Hurkacz played well in the critical moments and held serve with few problems to close out his match in 1hr and 41mins.
“I think definitely today was a real battle,” said Hurkacz, who won the Shanghai Masters last year and also tasted victory at Marseille.
“Adrian was playing really, really tricky shots and it’s difficult to play against.
“So I was just battling for every single point, and I think mentally I was able to stay in the present, stay positive before each point and I think I was also really resilient today.”
— AFP