It was a win Alex de Minaur had been gunning for and the world No.18 insists he’s ready for more “popcorn” contests after leading Australia to an impressive ATP Cup win over Germany.
The 20-year-old had lost all four previous matches to Alexander Zverev, who entered their Friday night clash in Brisbane as world No.7 and hot favourite.
Leading a set and a break the German looked on track to force a deciding doubles rubber after Nick Kyrgios had earlier beaten Jan-Lennard Struff to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
But de Minaur ground him down and then didn’t miss his chance to finish Zverev, who served 14 double faults and brutally smashed a racquet after losing a second set he had led 4-2.
He prevailed 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, with John Peers and Chris Guccione then winning the doubles against French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 6-3 6-4 to seal a 3-0 sweep for Australia after Kyrgios’s 6-4 7-6 (7-4) first-up triumph.
“The biggest thing was to have beaten an opponent I haven’t beaten yet,” de Minaur said.
“He had my number until now … this is about getting in my head that I’m good enough to match it with these guys and every top 10 win I get is a bit more confidence in myself.
De Minaur’s victory follows Davis Cup wins for Australia against David Goffin and Denis Shapovalov, who will play again when the hosts meet Canada on Sunday.
“It’s going to be popcorn match after popcorn match,” de Minaur said of Australia’s tough pool.
“I’m extremely proud of today … hopefully come Sunday I’ll be ready to do it all again.”
Captain Lleyton Hewitt labelled de Minaur’s a “bloody good win” and said Kyrgios had been in a good headspace since arriving for the first tournament of the summer.
“He put on a serving display, served fantastic,” Hewitt said of the world No.30’s 20-ace effort.
“Struff’s not an easy player to play; he bided his time and played a great tie-break to get out of it.”
The top team from all six pools plus the two next-best teams will progress to the quarter-finals in Sydney later next week.
