Alex de Minaur hasn’t had the best of starts to his 2026 campaign…
The Aussie star went 2-1 in singles at the United Cup, losing to Casper Ruud before picking up wins over Jakub Mensik and Hubert Hurkacz.
His win over Hurkacz didn’t amount to much, though, as Australia lost to Poland 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
The 26-year-old will now turn his attention to the Australian Open, his home Grand Slam.
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Unfortunately for De Minaur, his chances in Melbourne may have just taken a knock, thanks to a player who isn’t even competing…
Holger Rune lays out exactly how to beat Alex de Minaur
Appearing as a guest on the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, Denmark’s Holger Rune was asked for his thoughts on his Australian rival.
Rune, currently injured and expected to miss several months, reflected upon his latest win over De Minaur, revealing the tactics he used to emerge victorious.
“It’s funny, when I played him and beat him in Paris in 2024, in the warm-up, my back got totally stuck, a spasm or something,” he said.
“I got some treatment, I couldn’t really serve full, maybe 150kmh.
“But that actually turned out to be really effective, because I didn’t give him any pace.
“I was just sort of placing the serve to open up the court a little bit. I won the first set.
“Then I got warmer, started feeling better, served bigger, and I lost the second set!
Alex de Minaur and Holger Rune’s head-to-head record
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2024 Paris Masters – QF | Holger Rune | Alex de Minaur | 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 |
| 2023 Queen’s – SF | Alex de Minaur | Holger Rune | 6-3, 7-6 |
| 2023 Mexican Open – SF | Alex de Minaur | Holger Rune | 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 |
| 2022 Swiss Indoors – 1R | Holger Rune | Alex de Minaur | 6-2, 7-5 |
| 2022 Stockholm Open – SF | Holger Rune | Alex de Minaur | 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 |
“Then the third set, I tried to play like the first set, and I managed to beat him.”
Rune clearly identified a weakness in De Minaur’s game.
Hitting serves with less pace and better placement causes issues for the world number six.
Heading into the Australian Open, De Minaur will hope that his rivals weren’t tuning in to Andy Roddick’s weekly podcast…
If they were, then perhaps they may implement Rune’s tactics at the first Grand Slam of the year, something that could spell trouble for the Aussie number one.
However, while Rune got the game plan right in Paris two years ago, his head-to-head lead is slender, 3-2.
Rune knows just how good De Minaur is, and was keen to compliment his rival.
“I think a player like [Alex] De Minaur, he’s a really great player,” he said.
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“He’s one of the guys that maximises everything in his game, his physique, his mindset. He’s got a bulletproof mindset as well; he’s tough, he never gives up.
“Also, he has very flat shots; sometimes they can be awkward to hit on, because sometimes there’s even some backspin on the backhand and forehand.
“A really tricky player to play, and very physical, if you’re not in shape, there’s no chance to beat him, because even if you try to overpower him, he likes that pace.”
De Minaur will certainly hope to put those physical attributes to good use when he makes his ninth Australian Open main draw appearance.
Alex de Minaur’s Australian Open record
The Australian made his debut at the event in 2016, but fell in the first round of qualifying.
Since then, he’s been in the main draw eight times, winning 18 matches and losing eight.
- 2017 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 2R to Sam Querrey
- 2018 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 1R to Tomas Berdych
- 2019 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 3R to Rafael Nadal
- 2021 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 3R to Fabio Fognini
- 2022 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 3R to Jannik Sinner
- 2023 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 3R to Novak Djokovic
- 2024 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in 4R to Andrey Rublev
- 2025 Australian Open – Alex de Minaur lost in QF to Jannik Sinner
He enjoyed his best-ever run in 2025, reaching his first quarterfinal down under, before losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Only time will tell if he can go a step further in 2026, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
De Minaur will begin his Australian Open campaign shortly after the tournament starts on Sunday, January 18.
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