Australian Alex de Minaur, fresh off his Atlanta Open title victory, has moved up to No.25 in the latest tennis world rankings, released on Monday by the ATP.
De Minaur’s second career victory on Sunday in Georgia has elevated him nine spots to No.25, assuring him of being seeded for next month’s US Open at Flushing Meadows.
He has played himself into form for the New York major after a brilliant serving performance in the final against Taylor Fritz. He also broke the American’s serve twice in the first set and dominated the second-set tiebreak to win 6-3 7-6 (7-2).
Nicknamed the ‘Demon’ for his speed and ability to track down balls that, for many would be unreachable, the 20-year-old amazingly won the Atlanta title without facing a break point in his four matches.
De Minaur lost just seven first-serve points throughout the week (winning 116 of 123) and became the youngest winner in the tournament’s history.
He started 2019 with victory at the Sydney International but groin issues hampered his campaigns on clay and grass. But, he is 15-4 this season on hardcourts.
“This one is really special to me. I felt like I really needed this. To start the year with a bang and then be slowed down by injuries … you expect your level to be right there once you come back, but you have to slowly grind your way back,” de Minaur told atptour.com.
“I’ve been playing great tennis and felt like if I could keep it all together, the good results will come. This is a week that will really help me out.
“I don’t think I could start the American hardcourt season any better than this,” he said.
“I’m happy with where I am and enjoying every day. I can’t wait to get back on court and keep improving.”
“It’s so good to see him back playing good tennis after struggling with injuries,” said a magnanimous Fritz, who had made 20 unforced errors in the final.
“He played really well and I just needed to up it even more if I wanted to win.”
In the new rankings, Novak Djokovic retained his commanding lead after his epic Wimbledon triumph over Roger Federer.
The Serb stayed on top with 12,415 points, ahead of Spain’s Rafael Nadal on 7945 and Swiss great Federer on 7460.
In the only change in the top 10, Italy’s Fabio Fognini overtook Russian Daniil Medvedev in ninth place.
ATP TOP 10, AS OF JULY 29 (previous ranking in parenthesis):
* 1. (1) Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 12,415 points
* 2. (2) Rafael Nadal, Spain, 7945
* 3. (3) Roger Federer, Switzerland, 7460
* 4. (4) Dominic Thiem, Austria, 4595
* 5. (5) Alexander Zverev, Germany, 4415
* 6. (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece, 4045
* 7. (7) Kei Nishikori, Japan, 4040
* 8. (8) Karen Khachanov, Russia, 2890
* 9. (10) Fabio Fognini, Italy, 2625
* 10.(9) Daniil Medvedev, Russia, 2625.
DPA
