Alex de Minaur has secured a crucial top-eight seeding for the upcoming Australian Open, helped by an unexpected defeat overseas.
Before the Australian summer commenced, de Minaur looked to defend 265 ranking points claimed at last year's United Cup, coming into the season ranked No.9.
Despite him winning both of his singles games in straight-sets over the past few days, it wasn't enough to secure knock-out qualification for the host nation.
However, Andrey Rublev, ranked No.8 before the 2025 campaign, suffered a shock defeat to Hungary's Fábián Marozsán 7-5 3-6 6-3 in the round of 16 of the Hong Kong Open overnight.
Rublev entered as the top-seed, having claimed the title 12 months ago at the 250 event, but the Russian has now dropped to ninth in the live ATP rankings.
Having trailed Rublev by 15 points, the tables have flipped, with de Minaur jumping ahead by the same margin.
Securing a top-eight seed means de Minaur, who has been eliminated in the fourth-round in the last three Melbourne Park editions, will avoid the remaining top-seven seeds until the quarter-finals at the very least.
At the 2024 Australian Open, the reigning Newcombe medalist bowed out of the tournament in the fourth-round at the hands of Rublev in a five-set thriller.
The 25-year-old is in pole position to become the first Aussie male since Nick Kyrgios in 2015 to achieve a last-eight berth at the Australian Open.
The main draw kicks off on Sunday, January 12.
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