Melbourne, Australia, 6 May 2022 | Leigh Rogers

As Alex de Minaur eyes a top-20 return, the Australian No.1 is feeling inspired by the rising number of Aussie men at the top of the rankings.

The world No.22 is one of nine Australian men currently ranked inside the world’s top 130 in singles. This is a 23-year high, with 1999 marking the last time Australia began May with nine men ranked within this bracket.

“It’s amazing to see nine Aussies in the top 130,” De Minaur told tennis.com.au.

“I think it’s a great level. We’re all kind of pushing ourselves, wanting to improve, wanting to get more players there. It’s a great group of guys and that just brings out the best in us.

“We keep on pushing ourselves to go higher and bring more people in and see who’s the next person to get into the top 100. It’s great to see considering the rich history and culture of Australian tennis.”

Only three other nations presently have more players ranked inside the world’s top 130 – USA leads the way with 17, followed by Spain with 14 and France with 10.

Australia’s No.2-ranked man James Duckworth agrees “it’s an exciting period for Aussie tennis”.

“It’s great for Aussie tennis to have more players pushing through,” Duckworth said.

“We all get along pretty well and hang out together and that sort of thing. I guess we do sort of push each other you could say.

“You see one guy having success, and you sort of think ‘well I practised with him and we were pretty even in practice. If he can get to 50 in the world, why can’t I?’ So I guess we sort of help each other in that sense. We pull each other along.”

The last time nine Australian men featured inside the world’s top 130 at this stage of the season, Pat Rafter was the top-ranked Aussie at world No.4. Mark Philippoussis was the second highest at world No.9, followed by Jason Stoltenberg (world No.32), Andrew Ilie (world No.41), Scott Draper (world No.47), Lleyton Hewitt (world No.56), Mark Woodforde (world No.60), Richard Fromberg (world No.72) and Todd Woodbridge (world No.104).

The revitalised strength in numbers in Australian men’s tennis today is also evident in the doubles rankings, with eight players currently inside the world’s top 130. This includes five within the world’s top 35, led by John Peers at world No.10.

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