AUSTRALIA’S Alex “Demon” de Minaur burst onto the scene in 2019, winning his first title on home soil at the Sydney International. He finished the 2019 year with three titles – Atlanta and Zhuhai the other two – becoming a developing force on hard court and one to watch at next year’s Australian Open. While still raw and prone to the odd blowout, his exciting strokes and powerful running see him as one of the next big things, particularly from an Australian perspective.

In 2019, he won 32 of a possible 50 matches, seven of which came at Grand Slams. To win titles on three continents showed de Minaur’s ability to win both at home and away, beating some quality players along the way. Ultimately though, consistency is still an area de Minaur can improve, with the US Open a perfect example. He knocked off world number seven, Kei Nishikori in four sets, before going down to Grigor Dimitrov – who was returning from injury this year. Less impressive was his five-set Wimbledon loss to Steve Johnson, and his straight sets exit against Pablo Carena Busta – who restricted him to just five games in that match. At the Australian Open, it was Rafael Nadal who showed him how far it is to the top, with a 6-1 6-2 6-4 trouncing. With two top 10 scalps – Nishikori and then Roberto Bautista Agut – this year, de Minaur has the potential to challenge the best, but is not yet at his most consistent – again shown by a straight sets loss to Roger Federer recently.

Looking ahead to the future, de Minaur could easily become a top 10 player in 2020, but will need to iron out the consistency, particularly losses to lower ranked players, especially on his preferred hard surface. Expect him to go through the same pathway in January, and prepare for the Australian Open with a chance at defending his title in Sydney.