Alex de Minaur has been a mainstay at the apex of men’s tennis for many years now, but he is yet to make that breakthrough at the Grand Slam level.
After all, he has reached the quarter-finals of all four majors, and the final of another Masters 1000 event, but failed to take that crucial next step.
Now, at 26 years old, it feels like he needs to start turning these opportunities into tangible success.
Especially given he has more than enough talent to do so, with a relentless work ethic that can trouble almost anyone on tour.
This year’s US Open certainly has afforded him a golden opportunity, with his draw having just now opened up.
Alex De Minaur’s US Open draw opens up
Having beaten Christopher O’Connell and Shintaro Mochizuki with remarkable ease, and with Daniel Altmaier up next, it seems like Alex de Minaur’s passage into the fourth round should be quite comfortable.
However, it is what has happened elsewhere which has really opened things up for the Aussie, with losses to Karen Khachanov and Francisco Cerundolo blowing things wide open.
This means that De Minaur, should he beat Altmaier, will have to face one of Leandro Riedi or Kamil Majchrzak for a spot in the quarter-final.
He will not have to play a player inside the top 50 before the quarter-finals, which will not only gift him a golden opportunity to break his Grand Slam hoodoo, but also to boost his chances of an appearance in the end-of-year event in Turin.
Given De Minaur and Katie Boulter were snubbed for the US Open mixed doubles format, the former will be delighted to have used that additional pre-tournament preparation to at least enjoy success in the singles draw.
Alex De Minaur was in fine form even before the US Open
Whilst De Minaur might be seemingly motoring through his section of the draw early on, his form beforehand did suggest this might be a possibility.
After all, a champion in Washington and a quarter-finalist in Toronto, the Australian laid the perfect foundations for success in New York.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
On his way to the title in the former event, he impressed to bypass stars like Jiri Lehecka, Brandon Nakashima and a very in-form Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Then, his Canadian conquest was only stopped by the eventual champion Ben Shelton, just after he had knocked out Frances Tiafoe.
An early exit in Cincinnati marked an outlier, and he is proving that to be the case by backing up his pre-tournament form with some routine early-round victories at the US Open.