‘Flying the flag proudly’: Australians rally behind Alex de Minuar in grand slam resurgence | US Open Tennis 2024

ohAlex de Minaur, Australia's lone Grand Slam player for the past few years, has repeatedly insisted that things will get better sooner or later. He pointed to the growing presence of Australian players in the men's top 100 and said it's all about numbers, numbers.

It's taken a long time, but looking at this year's U.S. Open, the pyramid effect (the more players there are, the greater the chance that some of them will make it further up the ranks) appears to be at work.

For the first time since 1997, Australia has four players in the third round at the U.S. Open. De Minaur is joined by Alexei Populin, Jordan Thompson and Chris O'Connell, all from Sydney, who are in the last 32. Friendship, hard work and camaraderie have propelled each of them to a new level. If Populin, who faces 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, and O'Connell, who faces world number one Jannik Sinner, struggle, Thompson and de Minaur have a chance to go even further. Something is happening.

“I think Australia has shown a rich history in football over the years,” de Minaur said. “There have been periods when they've perhaps lost some of their numbers, but I think they've shown their domestic strength more recently.”

“With this new wave of players, we're flying the flag not just in numbers, but really with pride. We're a Grand Slam country, but we don't have a huge population and we've reached the Davis Cup final two years in a row with a team that some would say isn't the strongest.

“But we're just showing what it means to play for Australia. I know all the players here, they fly the flag with pride and it's great to see them all doing well.”

With Nick Kyrgios still out with injury, much of Australia's hopes rest on de Minaur's shoulders. The only other Australian to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam in the last two years is Linky Hijikata. De Minaur often speaks about the privilege of being the leader of Australian men's tennis, and he sets an example for other players with his work ethic and professionalism. For all his talent and success, the 25-year-old is setting a standard that Kyrgios has failed to show.

“When you look at what he's achieved at this level, I think Damon is the epitome of hard work and perseverance,” said Poplin, who earlier this month became the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 title in Montreal since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003. “He's definitely a really hard worker and has shown us that if you put your heart, your mind and your body into it, you can achieve anything. [big] thing.

“He was one of the first people to congratulate me after I won. [in Montreal]and that's the kind of guy he is. We've known each other for a long time and we've come up the ranks together. When he was in the top 10 and I was at the height of my career. [ranking] It's been great for us. It's something we never thought about as kids, but it's definitely something we wanted.”

Australians have always produced some excellent doubles players – Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Matt Ebden, Max Purcell, John Peers, Tatsumi Hijikata and Jason Kublev have all won Grand Slam doubles titles in the past decade – but they are now doing even better in singles.

Thompson's win over Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the US Open was his first victory over a top 10 player at a major tournament. O'Connell defeated 26th seed Nicolas Jarry in the first round, and Kokkinakis defeated 11th seed and two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round. Australia has 10 players ranked in the world top 100 and three – de Minaur, Poplin and Thompson – are ranked in the top 32.

Australians are a tight-knit bunch, and they all get along well. That's no bad thing, especially when they're far from home. They enjoy each other's company, whether hanging out together at the Australian Coffee Shop in Manhattan or just relaxing in the players' lounge at Flushing Meadows. And while they're all competitive, they also push each other to do better.

“Every week the Australians do well,” said Thompson, who will face Matteo Arnaldi on Saturday, “so if the Australians do well one week, you wonder if it's your turn the next week. So I feel that way and I'm sure other guys are thinking the same thing.”