A decision by Novak Djokovic to prioritise grand slams and the Davis Cup for the remainder of his career could reap benefits for Australian star Alex de Minaur as he seeks another career milestone in 2024.
On a bright day for Australian tennis, emerging talent Olivia Gadecki clinched a spot in her first WTA Tour final and broke into the top 100 and also secured the nation’s No.1 ranking in the process.
Australia’s men, meanwhile, will progress to the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga later in November regardless of what happens in a dead rubber against Spain in Valencia tonight, with reports four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz will skip the tie.
Both Australia and Spain have already qualified after defeating France and the Czech Republic in what was labelled a “group of death”, with Thanasi Kokkinakis starring in the absence of de Minaur.
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But de Minaur, who is sidelined with the hip injury that stymied him in the Wimbledon and US Open quarterfinals, could yet prove the biggest Australian winner for the day after Djokovic’s declaration during a Davis Cup tie in Belgrade.
The Australian, who is resting the hip and will not play in next week’s Laver Cup, is desperate to play in the elite eight-man ATP Tour Finals for the first time in 2024 and sits in eighth position in the race for the event held in Turin in mid-November.
Despite missing the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters in August, de Minaur has managed to retain his spot among leading contenders courtesy of his strong grand slam form.
Demon ruled OUT of Davis Cup group stage | 00:33
But the 25-year-old, who has compiled 3305 points this year, sits only 45 point in front of the ninth-placed Djokovic, who has won the lucrative season-ending championships a record seven times and is the defending champion.
Grigor Dimitrov, the ATP Tour Finals champion in 2017, trails de Minaur by 470 points in 10th position, while Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas are within striking range but would need to finish the season strongly.
In a clear boost to the world No.11s hopes of becoming Australia’s first representative since dual-champion Lleyton Hewitt, the 16-time qualifier Djokovic said after a Davis Cup win in Belgrade that “Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest”.
“I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings, etc,” he said in Serbian, as reported by Tennis Majors.
“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. 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 (and) everything else is less important.”
Djokovic is committed to playing in the lucrative Shanghai Masters, an event with 1000 ranking points to the winner, but it is less clear whether he will compete in the final Masters for the year at Paris Bercy, an event where de Minaur has played well in the past.
Gadecki, meanwhile, will play Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the final of the A$1.4 million Guadalajara Open after continuing her strong form in Mexico with a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Colombian Camila Osorio.
The 22-year-old is the first Australian since Ash Barty, who has been a regular hitting partner and mentor for the Gold Coast native, to reach the final of a WTA Tour 500 tier event and will pocket more than A$210,000 if she claims her first tour title on Monday AEST.
The powerful right-hander qualified for the tournament and then proceeded to beat 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and former Australian Open finalist and world No.11 Danielle Collins in the opening two rounds of the tournament.
Having started the week ranked 152, she will surpass Daria Saville to become Australia’s top-ranked woman regardless of the result and could jump into the top 60 if she manages to beat Frech, who defeated 2022 WTA Tour Finals champion Caroline Garcia on Sunday.
The Australian, who reached the quarterfinals of a lower-tier event in Mexico earlier this month, said winning through qualifying had boosted her confidence and helped her find her range and rhythm.
“I am feeling great and the extra matches have really helped,” she said.
“I am still trying to let it sink in, but I am really happy with the way that I played today. I started very well and the jitters started to settle in a little, but I am really pleased with myself and I am thrilled to be in the finals.”
No Australian has won a WTA Tour title since Barty’s retirement following her win at the 2022 Australian Open and Gadecki said it would be “very exciting to be the next Australian to win a title after Ash”.
By virtue of her top 100 breakthrough, Gadecki is primed to earn direct entry into a grand slam for the first time at the Australian Open next year.
“I’m still trying to digest that,” she said.
“To be in the top 100 has been a massive goal of mine since I was very young and to be within that range is incredible and it shows that I have a lot of potential and I have to keep tapping into it. I think the possibilities are endless.”