Alex de Minaur kicked off his 2026 season with two wins and a loss at the United Cup.
In front of a home crowd at the international event, de Minaur picked up a pair of singles victories for Australia against Jakub Mensik and Hubert Hurkacz following his opening loss to Casper Ruud.
Despite prevailing in the bout with Hurkacz, Australia ultimately exited the tournament after they lost the decisive mixed doubles match in their tie with Poland.
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De Minaur will now have his sights set on the upcoming Australian Open, where he has never made it past the quarterfinals.
Ahead of his campaign in Melbourne, the world number six revealed his ‘main goal’ for the year.
Alex de Minaur discusses his current position in the ATP rankings
Depending on results at the Hong Kong Open, de Minaur may rise to 5th in the rankings, becoming the first Australian to do so since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.
When asked what that would mean for him heading into the first Grand Slam of the year, he responded: “I will talk about it when I know it’s 100% certain.
“It is what it is. I think ultimately in tennis there’s so many variables, right? Over the years, that’s something I’ve obsessed about, something that I’ve looked at after every single match, focused on everyone else’s results.
“As I saw last year, it consumed me, right? It was too much. I’m doing my best to kind of be a lot more chilled out about it.
“If it happens, it happens. I think I played some good tennis here. Ultimately, yeah, any improvements would be welcome.
“Those are the goals that I’m pursuing. Whether I achieve it this next coming week or at the end of the year or in the middle of the year.
“I’m going to be looking forward to hopefully finishing off the year higher than I did this last year. That’s my main goal.”
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Alex de Minaur says he worked on his serve after opening loss
In his first match of the season against Ruud, de Minaur’s uncharacteristic double-fault tally of eight was one of the main contributors to his loss.
Speaking about the defeat, de Minaur said: “I think what was a little bit strange for me was the amount of double-faults.
“That’s something I don’t normally hit. Obviously, that was what felt like an anomaly. We got back to the practice court, just worked on a couple things, a couple different feels.
“I’m very happy with my serving performance [in] the following two matches, kind of showing all the work that I put in.
“Of course, if I can land first serves and play with a lot of first serves, it makes my life a whole lot easier. Makes me definitely a more dangerous opponent. Hopefully I can keep that up for the rest of the summer.”
De Minaur reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last year, where he was beaten by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
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