Aussie De Minaur roars into first China Open final

No. 9 Alex de Minaur advanced to his first China Open final and third of the season after Poland's Hubert Hurkacz was forced to retire in the semifinals.

Dominating on the Diamond Court, de Minaur raced to a 4-0 lead in just 12 minutes against Hurkacz, dropping only four points along the way. Hurkacz eventually retired due to an abductor strain with de Minaur leading 6-4, 3-2, 40-0, but the scoreline and the result hardly captured how thoroughly the Aussie controlled the match.

“If I could guarantee to start like that every single match, trust me, I would sign on the dotted line,” joked the fifth-seeded de Minaur, who peaked at a career-high World No. 5 in July. 

“Today, it just felt good, the fact that I was able to get on top of his serve early and just return to the baseline off his first serves.”

Hurkacz managed to break back late in the first set, but de Minaur closed it out without much drama. He broke Hurkacz again in the third game of the second set, and the match appeared to be his to control until Hurkacz’s retirement.

“It felt like every decision I was making was the right one,” de Minaur said. “The places I was leaning on my returns were the right ones, and I committed to my shots.” 

De Minaur reflected on finding his groove over the past couple months. After a second-round setback in the U.S. Open, he went 3-0 in the Davis Cup and Laver Cup, which included a match-point saving win over World No. 2 Alexander Zverev. 

“I needed a little bit of a spark,” de Minaur said. “The Davis Cup and the Laver Cup were exactly what I needed. I needed something different, a little bit of a team atmosphere, team chemistry, which I was able to use to have a little reset and really get back in the groove of things.”

“The tennis never went away,” he continued. “It was more mental than anything else. I knew that as soon as I brought that energy and that spark back, then the tennis would come back.”

On Tuesday, De Minaur will try to win his second title of the season, having picked up the indoor hardcourt win at Rotterdam in February. Victory would net him a 12th career title. 

By Jackson West