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Alex de Minaur has achieved the best victory of his career
The Australian defeated Novak Djokovic in Perth
It is a hard blow for Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open
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Alex de Minaur has achieved the biggest victory of his budding career by defeating world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the United Cup in Perth.
De Minaur was on fire from the start of Wednesday night’s match, winning 6-4 6-4 in 93 minutes to give Australia a 1-0 lead in their quarter-final tie against Serbia.
Ajla Tomljanovic can secure Australia’s victory and a place in the semi-finals with a victory over Natalija Stevanovic in the women’s singles battle.
‘It’s extremely special. “Novak is an incredible competitor,” he said of Minaur after breaking the super Serb’s streak of 43 matches and six years of consecutive victories in Australia.
‘It feels surreal, it feels incredible. “I’m happy to do it here in Perth and Australia.”
Alex de Minaur has claimed the biggest scalp of his career after beating Novak Djokovic
De Minaur, 24, defeated Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 at the United Cup in Perth
Djokovic came into the match under an injury cloud after injuring his wrist while practicing on Tuesday morning.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion overcame the setback to claim a 6-1, 6-7 (7-3), 6-1 victory over world number 31 Jiri Lehecka later in the day, and faced Wednesday night for the clash. with Australia.
De Minaur was beaten 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 by Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, but it was a different story in Wednesday night’s rematch.
The 24-year-old’s frenetic speed and agility continually frustrated Djokovic, who made a series of unforced errors throughout the match as he battled wrist pain.
Djokovic received treatment after suffering a break in the ninth game of the first set, but that did little to stop De Minaur’s attack.
The Australian got his second break of the match in the seventh game of the second set when Djokovic double faulted.
De Minaur had three match points with leads of 40-0 and 5-4, but wasted each of them, even with a double fault.
It represents a blow to Djokovic ahead of his Australian Open title defense.
But he earned a fourth match point and secured victory when Djokovic sent a backhand long.
Although de Minaur defeated Rafael Nadal in last year’s United Cup, the victory over Djokovic is even more significant given that the 36-year-old is still at the peak of his powers after winning three of the four Slams in 2024 .
It represents De Minaur’s first victory over a world number one.
Djokovic is aiming to win an unprecedented 11th Australian Open later this month, but his loss to De Minaur is sure to raise questions about his fitness and form.