Alex de Minaur is a hot favourite to edge out Novak Djokovic slayer Alexei Popyrin and claim a third Newcombe Medal as Australian tennis’s player of the year.
De Minaur is an odds-on favourite to snare a third medal after crowning his finest season yet by becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to qualify for the elite eight-man ATP Finals.
Ordinarily, Popyrin and Olympic Games gold medallists Matt Ebden and John Peers would also have strong winning claims.
Popyrin shot to stardom as the first Australian since also since Hewitt in 2003 to capture a Masters 1000 title in Montreal before taking down the great Novak Djokovic is a seismic US Open upset in New York.
The 25-year-old’s breakout season has the former French Open junior champion knocking on the door of the world’s top 20 and set for a first-time grand slam seeding at the Australian Open in January.
Peers and Ebden joined the legendary Woodies – Mark Woodforde and Todd Woobridge – as Olympic gold medallist with a stirring comeback win in Paris over Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.
Jordan Thompson, who banked more than $1 million in a life-changing fortnight at Flushing Meadows, his doubles-winning partner Max Purcell and rising women’s star Olivia Gadecki also earned nominations.
Thompson fell to de Minaur in the singles fourth round in New York before landing a maiden grand slam crown with his doubles triumph with Purcell and, like Popyrin, is also in line to be seeded at Melbourne Park.
Jordan Thompson. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Gadecki, a long-time protege of Ash Barty, soared into the world’s top 100 with a career-best run to the Guadalajara Open final in September.
De Minaur, though, will not be denied after enjoying another watershed campaign in 2024 underlined by a series of career firsts.
The 25-year-old made three consecutive grand slam quarter-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, surging to No.6 in the world after his charge at the All England Club.
Despite suffering the heartbreak of having to withdraw from a scheduled Wimbledon quarter-final blockbuster with Djokovic with a hip injury, de Minaur rebounded to produce another Hewitt-like feat at Flushing Meadows.
In reaching the last eight for a second time, de Minaur was the first Australian since his idol and Davis Cup captain in 2005 to make three major quarters in a calendar year.
He looks a shoo-in to add a third “Newk” to his 2018 and 2023 medals.
“It’s been a great year for me, a year of many firsts, cracking a lot of milestones and a lot of goals that I’ve set out with the whole team,” de Minaur said.
“I’m extremely proud of everything that has been accomplished.”
© AAP
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