Tennis legend Wally Masur says Alex de Minaur will have his best Australian Open finish next year and the United Cup will be the perfect lead-in for the world No.13.
The 18 nations will compete in Perth and Sydney, with Novak Djokovic’s Serbia and Iga Swiatek’s Poland heading west, while Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Greece and Angelique Kerber’s Germany feature in the east.Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >
“Alex might be in a situation where he plays three sets against Cam Norrie and maybe it’s not in his best interests to back up and play the mixed.Alex de Minaur could face girlfriend Katie Boulter in the mixed doubles at the United Cup. “That win helped him a lot because he was very good at beating the people he should beat but he was struggling to beat the very best,’’ Masur said.“The big thing is that he’s marrying up his personality, which is to be pretty aggressive with his physique, which is probably to be a counter-puncher where he uses his opponent’s pace.
“I’ve known Alex since he was 12 and I’ve always thought he was this smaller guy punching above his weight. His power game has been questioned but Australian tennis great Mark Philippoussis has noticed more aggression from de Minaur, which will hold him in good stead if he faces heavyweights Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.“Of course he can contend at the Australian Open,” Philippoussis said.
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