Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Alex de Minaur faces a potentially career-defining fortnight in New York as younger rivals emerge to threaten his top-10 position amid a prolonged form dip.
The year’s fourth and final grand slam, the US Open, begins on Sunday night (AEST), with de Minaur again headlining the Australian assault as the No.6 seed in a men’s singles draw so far featuring seven compatriots, while Daria Kasatkina leads the country’s five players in the women’s event.
De Minaur starts against a qualifier, but has difficult projected rivals beyond that, including Botic van de Zandschulp (second round), 31st seed Zizou Bergs (third round), No.12 seed Rafael Jodar (fourth round) and top seed Alexander Zverev (quarter-finals).
The 27-year-old has advanced to the US Open quarter-finals the past two years – and three times overall – but lost in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
De Minaur, who married British player Katie Boulter on Wimbledon men’s finals day in July, has also won no more than two matches at any of his three tournaments since leaving London, and his ranking has slipped from a career-best No.5 to 7.
That downturn from de Minaur’s typically lofty standards has coincided with hot streaks from rising stars Arthur Fils and Jodar, who are on the verge of making their top-10 debuts.
Fils, 22, beat Australia’s seven-time major quarter-finalist in straight sets last week en route to the Cincinnati Masters title, while 20-year-olds Learner Tien and Jakub Mensik are also inside the top 20 and increasingly looming.
Jodar, 19, amassed a 10-3 record in the lead-in American hardcourt events, including making the Canadian Masters semi-finals and the Washington Open final. The Spaniard drew Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round.
The US Open men’s championship race appears to be as open as it has been in years, with Jannik Sinner (knee) withdrawing and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) returning for his first event since April.
The likes of Roland-Garros titlist Zverev, 24-time grand slam-winning legend Novak Djokovic, Fils, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli and even Jodar would fancy their chances of lifting the trophy.
James Duckworth, Rinky Hijikata, Adam Walton, Aleks Vukic, Alexei Popyrin and wildcard Dane Sweeny are Australia’s other men’s representatives. Hijikata and Duckworth drew seeded rivals Auger-Aliassime and Matteo Arnaldi, respectively.
Popyrin reached the last 16 in New York two years ago, but has not won a grand slam match in 2026 and his ranking has plummeted to No.130. He, too, has a qualifier as his first-round opponent.
Joining Kasatkina, who also married her long-time partner Natalia Zabiiako post-Wimbledon, in contesting the women’s singles are Kim Birrell, Talia Gibson, Maya Joint and wildcard Taylah Preston.
Kasatkina starts with former top-tenner Paula Badosa, while Gibson drew Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic and Joint faces Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, who was ranked in the top 20 as recently as May. Samsonova defeated Joint in three sets in Toronto a fortnight ago.
The women’s draw is similarly wide open, particularly with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka enduring a form slump and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina dealing with an ankle injury.
Resurgent Pole Iga Swiatek, 2023 winner Coco Gauff and 2024 runner-up Jessica Pegula are serious contenders, as are the past two grand slam champions, Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova.
Australia’s Chris O’Connell, Tristan Schoolkate and Storm Hunter have advanced to final-round qualifying.
Australians’ US Open first-round opponents
Men: Alexei Popyrin v Qualifier; WC-Dane Sweeny v Corentin Moutet (France); Thanasi Kokkinakis v 12-Rafael Jodar (Spain); 6-Alex de Minaur v Qualifier; Rinky Hijikata v 3-Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada); Aleks Vukic v Qualifier; James Duckworth v 30-Matteo Arnaldi (Italy); Adam Walton v Wu Yibing (China).
Women: WC-Taylah Preston v Alycia Parks (United States); Kim Birrell v Petra Marcinko (Croatia); Talia Gibson v Donna Vekic (Croatia); Maya Joint v Liudmila Samsonova (Russia); Daria Kasatkina v Paula Badosa (Spain).
Another top-100 Aussie
Preston has more than halved her ranking this year on the way to becoming the third Australian woman in the past 18 months to make her top-100 debut.
The 20-year-old West Australian edged her way to exactly No.100 on Monday, three weeks after capturing the biggest singles title of her life at the Vancouver WTA 125 event.
Preston follows countrywomen Joint, 20, and Gibson, 22, in achieving the ranking milestone, which will guarantee her entry into all four grand slams if she can maintain it. Her rise came narrowly too late for direct US Open entry, but she scored Tennis Australia’s reciprocal wildcard.
“It’s an amazing feeling [to be in the top 100],” Preston said.
“It’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of years. But it’s definitely been a goal for a long time now … I’m extremely grateful to be given a chance to compete in the main draw in New York. It means a lot to me.”
Tiley makes an instant splash
Former Tennis Australia and Australian Open supremo Craig Tiley is not mucking around in his new role as the United States Tennis Association’s chief executive officer.
The US Open will hand over the most prizemoney in tennis history this year, a 20 per cent increase on 12 months ago to a record $US108 million ($150.4 million). For comparison’s sake, the Australian Open’s 2026 prizemoney was $111.5 million.
Tiley said: “This is a significant first step in a multi-year investment in athletes as the US Open continues to be the best economic opportunity for players and the most valuable platform in tennis for players, fans and partners.”
Less popular was the USTA’s decision to initially overlook retiring Swiss great Stan Wawrinka for a wildcard, but he ended up scoring one when American Patrick Kypson withdrew injured.
Watch the US Open live on 9GO!, 9NOW and Stan Sport from 1am AEST Tuesday.
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