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After an outstanding junior career, Alex De Minaur is now taking his first steps towards recreating that same success in the pros.

The 17-year-old from Australia came through qualifying at this week’s $50,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Eckental, Germany, then won his first round over Frenchman Kenny De Schepper. With the victory, he became just the third player born in 1999 to win a main draw match at a Challenger.

On Wednesday, De Minaur backed up that win by moving into the quarter-finals over Federico Gaio of Italy. The Aussie has also yet to drop a set after five matches in Eckental.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience. It's my first time playing on carpet and I obviously really enjoy it because I've played my best five matches of the year” said De Minaur. “I’ve been playing great tennis. I didn't focus on what my opponent was ranked. I just went out there to play my tennis and it ended up working out really well. I’m very happy and just taking it all in at the moment.”

De Minaur peaked this February at No. 2 in the ITF Junior Rankings. He reached the boys’ singles final this year at Wimbledon (l. Shapovalov) and teamed up with fellow Aussie Blake Ellis to take the boys’ doubles title in January at the Australian Open.

The teenager has primarily been focusing on pro events this year and played almost exclusively on the ITF Futures circuit. But while his rookie year as a professional player has included some natural learning curves, De Minaur also discovered that he can compete at this level.

“It’s tough. I think it’s a lot to do with confidence. At first you think it’s going to be very hard, as the level on the tour is so high,” he admitted. “But as soon as you get your first win and you see that you can beat these guys, it helps. It allows you to go into matches and feel as though you have a shot.”

Although he’s enjoying success this week on indoor hard courts, De Minaur is capable of becoming an all-surface player. He currently trains full-time on clay in Alicante, Spain, and played the majority of his pro events this year on that surface.

With a swing of Challenger events in Australia to start off the 2017 season, De Minaur is hopeful that he can kick off next year with strong results and became a staple player at this level.

“Next year, I really want to step up, play a lot more Challenger events and improve my ranking,” he said. “I played a lot of Futures events, but I think it’s time to make that transition. Hopefully it goes well!”

Alex de Minaur, 17, qualifies for first ATP World Tour main draw

At just 17 years of age, Alex De Minaur defied nerves and overcame the pressure of making his ATP World Tour qualifying debut, successfully booking his spot in the main draw at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on Sunday.
In front of the home fans, the Sydney native was not rattled, even after dropping the first set against #NextGen star Frances Tiafoe, before rallying for a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 victory in two hours and 19 minutes. It was the latest of a slew of impressive victories for the rising talent, having won three straight meetings with players ranked inside the Top 150 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. He opened his qualifying campaign in Brisbane with a straight-set win over World No. 89 Mikhail Kukushkin.
De Minaur was left speechless.
"I'm playing really good tennis, and at the moment I couldn't feel any better," the teen exclaimed. "It's unbelievable. Such a tough match, especially how hot it is outside. I'm really happy to get off the court with a win. At the end of the day, the first set was tough, so I knew hopefully I was going to get some chances in the second. I just made a big effort to stay in that match at all points and ended up getting my opportunity and I took it."
De Minaur hopes his junior success, having ascended to No. 2 in the world, translates to a fruitful career on the ATP World Tour. The World No. 348 has already begun his assault on the Emirates ATP Rankings, soaring nearly 200 spots with a run to the final at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Eckental, Germany, in November. It was just his third Challenger main draw.
The Aussie teen has the attention of his peers and even former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who was in attendance for his Brisbane qualifying win on Sunday.
"It's been good," said Hewitt. "I've done a lot of work over the summer with Alex. He's a great young kid. A 17 year old playing a young 18-year-old American, it was pretty good tennis out there. Three extremely tough sets in really tough conditions.
"I'm happy for Alex. He gets an opportunity now to play in a main draw of an ATP World Tour event. What a way to start the new year. He has a lot of ability, he wants to work hard and puts in a lot of hard hours. The training that he's done in November and December, coming in here, that's the main reason he was able to win today and he was able to back it up from yesterday."
De Minaur's roots extend throughout the world. The 17 year old was born in Sydney, has a Spanish mother and a Uruguayan father, and speaks English, French and Spanish. Having lived in Alicante, Spain, until he was five, his family moved to Australia for his father's restaurant business. There, with the support of Tennis Australia, he began looking towards a career in pro tennis.
Now, into his first ATP World Tour main draw, he is relishing the opportunity and is excited to have the support of Hewitt. The two worked together during the teenager's off-season training block in Australia.
"So many times he's come back from tough matches," De Minuar added about Hewitt. "I'm happy I could do that today in the heat, especially having him out there. It means a lot."
De Minaur opens his Brisbane main draw campaign against 29-year-old Mischa Zverev, with a potential second-round clash against fifth seed Rafael Nadal looming large.