Alex de Minaur will face two players with a combined 30 Grand Slam titles when the ATP Finals begin in Turin on Sunday.
The Australian No.1 has been drawn alongside world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and American Taylor Fritz in the tournament’s Jimmy Connors Group. The top two will progress to the semifinals at the season-ending event.
It’s a formidable line-up, but De Minaur’s career-best season has been built on meeting tough challenges head-on.
For the second consecutive year, the 26-year-old climbed back to a career-high world No.6 and became the first Australian to qualify for back-to-back ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt two decades ago.
Along the way, he led the tour in hard-court victories, captured a 10th career title in Washington, scored top-10 wins over Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev, and reached the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and US Open.
Central to that success, De Minaur said, was an attitude shift in which he “had to become a more aggressive version of myself”.
“That mindset was very important, especially in the big moments,” he said after his Paris Masters quarterfinal run.
“I had to go out there and take it to these guys, because the level is way too good to hope they start missing or to rely on my speed and get passive.”
After a winless debut in the round robin stages last year, the Australian returns with renewed confidence and a clear goal – to turn experience into results.
“I’m looking forward not just to make up the numbers this time and hopefully be able to do some damage over there,” he said.
The only player on tour with more match wins than De Minaur this season is Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has claimed all four previous meetings, including a close three-set final in Rotterdam in February and a quarterfinal at the Barcelona Open in April.
De Minaur last faced Djokovic at Wimbledon, where he snatched the opening set 6-1 before the 24-time major winner prevailed in four. The 38-year-old Serbian leads their head-to-head 3-1 and is still assessing his schedule after returning to competition this week in Athens.
Against fourth-ranked Fritz, the pair has split 10 career meetings, with the American having claimed two of three meetings last year including at the ATP Finals.
The Bjorn Borg Group features world No.1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton and either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Lorenzo Musetti.
Musetti remains in contention for the final spot and will qualify if he wins the ATP 250 title in Athens this week, otherwise Canadian Auger-Aliassime will complete the eight-man field.
Whatever the draw, De Minaur arrives ready. His consistency, persistence and fighting spirit have defined a season that’s taken him to new heights.
As the Italian finale gets under way, Australia’s highest-ranked player knows he’s not just there to belong. He’s there to contend.
Watch the Nitto ATP Finals on beIN SPORTS. Sign up now.