Australian Open: Alex de Minaur’s Love for the Major

For all the milestone moments Alex de Minaur has had over his nearly 10-year pro tennis career, including nine ATP singles titles, there is one victory that stands out.

It was the opening round of the 2017 Australian Open in de Minaur’s first main draw at his first major championship in his home country, when the then-17-year-old saved a match point in the fourth set before beating Gerald Melzer in five sets and almost four hours.

“I remember everything about that match,” said de Minaur during a phone interview shortly after he arrived in Sydney, Australia, his hometown, late last month to start his 2025 season playing for Australia in the United Cup. “Making my debut on show court three in front of a packed crowd. It was so hot, but there were so many people supporting me from the very first point to the last. It’s one of those moments that I had grown up dreaming about. To be able to win that last point and the whole release of emotions, of tension, fatigue that had built up through the whole match was a pretty surreal experience.”

De Minaur, now 25, has become Australia’s great hope. Last season, in addition to notching wins over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, he beat Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, winning titles in Acapulco, Mexico, and the Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, and reaching a career-high No. 6 in July.

But he also suffered excruciating losses, most notably to Rublev in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, the tournament de Minaur said he coveted most.