Alex de Minaur could hand Novak Djokovic a ranking blow as winning run with new racket continues
Alex de Minaur changed his racket heading into the hard court swing in North America and the results have been impressive.
De Minaur was one of several top-ranked players in the men’s and women’s game who have opted to start using the new Wilson Ultra v5 frame, the latest release from the manufacturer who works with more top players than any other brand in tennis.
The Australian has been using a Wilson frame for many years, but he seems to have found his groove with their Ultra v5.
After winning the ATP 500 tournament in Washington last week, De Minaur has taken his winning form to Toronto after he sealed his place in the quarter-finals of the ATP 1000 tournament with a thrilling win against Frances Tiafoe.
“It was never going to be easy and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away,” De Minaur said. “I think I battled him, myself and the conditions and I am happy to sneak away with a win today.”
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De Minaur has already had more than enough matches on hard courts as he prepares for a shot at the US Open and he could be heading to New York ahead of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the ATP Rankings.
This latest win in De Minaur’s winning run has fired him up to No 6 in the live rankings, where he is battling it out with Ben Shelton for that position.
If either goes on to win the title in Toronto this week, they would jump ahead of Djokovic and up to No 6 in the ATP Rankings when they are updated after this tournament.
Djokovic will have a big chance to make up ground in the rankings if he makes his expected return to action at the Cincinnati Masters event, which gets underway later this week.
However, Djokovic has yet to confirm if he will compete in the final ATP 1000 tournament ahead of the US Open, after he sustained an injury during his run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon last month.
Djokovic has admitted he is no longer concerned about in his ATP Ranking after leading that race for a record-breaking 428 weeks.
Yet he will be keen to cling on to his place in the top eight of the rankings, as that would ensure he will not face world No 1 Jannik Sinner or No 2 Carlos Alcaraz until at least the quarter-finals at the US Open.
As for De Minaur, he will be eyeing up a shot at breaking his Grand Slam quarter-final duck at the US Open.
The Aussie has made the last eight in all four major championships and he has done that twice at the US Open, so he will be eager to try and push his boundaries to the next level this year.
This win against Tiafoe win allowed De Minaur to draw level with Patrick Rafter for the second most tour-level hard-court wins among Australian men in the Open Era (212). Lleyton Hewitt leads the way on 372.
