World No.9 Alex de Minaur carried his blistering form into the new 2025 season overnight, but his chances of a deep run at the Australian Open took a hit.
In a major upset, Australia were stunned in their opening Group F tie against Argentina, losing 2-1 and now requiring a miracle to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Before his singles rubber against world No.39 Tomás Martín Etcheverry, de Minaur suffered defeat in the pair's only meeting at the 2023 French Open, succumbing to a straight-sets loss.
But the Sydneysider exacted revenge on his preferred surface to topple the Argentine and start the new campaign on the right note.
However, due to unexpected defeats suffered by Olivia Gadecki and doubles paring Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez, an all-important top-eight seed at the upcoming Australian Open is increasingly unlikely.
At the 2024 United Cup, de Minaur earned 265 ranking points after overcoming three top-10 players, including Taylor Fritz in the group stage (55 points), Novak Djokovic in the quarters (80 points) and Alexander Zverev in the semis (130 points).
Now, Australia needs to execute a 3-0 clean sweep in their final group tie against Great Britain on New Year's Day to have any hope of progression.
If de Minaur fails to defend his 265 points, it will offer Andrey Rublev, the current world No.8, a chance to cement a top-eight seeding at Melbourne Park.
The 27-year-old Russian has entered the field as the top seed for next week's Hong Kong Open, an ATP 250 event which Rublev won last season.
With Lorenzo Musetti, Karen Khachanov and Arthur Fils making up the top-four seeds, there is every possibility that Rublev can extend his marginal 15-point advantage over de Minaur in the rankings.
De Minaur will not feature in any more warm-up tournaments before the first Grand Slam of the year.
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