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Home hopes at the Australian Open: De Minaur leads the way

A total of 11 home players have earned places in the main draw of the 2025 Australian Open which gets underway on 12th January.

Others will hope to join for the first Grand Slam event of the year with either a wildcard or by taking one of the 16 qualifying places on offer.

The men's singles draw will include 10 of those 11 representatives, with Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios leading the home hopes.

Australian Open

De Minaur due a Melbourne run

De Minaur is the only Aussie inside the world top-20 of the ATP Tour rankings at the turn of the year, having qualified for the ATP Tour Finals for the first time.

The man from Sydney enjoyed his best year in the Grand Slams, reaching the quarter-finals in three of the Big Four in 2024.

De Minaur, though, is yet to get past the fourth round in Melbourne, losing at that stage in each of the last three years.

The 25-year-old lost a five-set thriller to Andry Rublev last year, having been 2-1 up, while he was beaten by Novak Djokovic at the same stage in 2023.

The man nicknamed ‘The Demon’ took a big step forward last season and now has to show he is capable of challenging for a Slam.

De Minaur will be playing in his eighth Australian Open and can be backed at 51.00 to lift the trophy at Rod Laver Arena.

Returning Kyrgios always a danger

A former quarter-finalist in Melbourne, Kyrgios has missed the last two Australian Opens after undergoing wrist surgery.

The big-serving Canberra star announced in November that he was returning to the ATP Tour and has had a protected ranking of 21, which he is using in this tournament.

Kyrgios is a former junior Australian Open champion, but has never been past the quarters in the main draw, with that last-eight appearance coming back in 2015.

The 29-year-old played doubles with Djokovic in the Brisbane International in December and the 10-time Melbourne champion said afterwards that he felt Kyrgios can do well if he stays healthy.

He is certainly a dangerous unseeded player in this event and the former Australian Open men's doubles winner is 81.00 to win the singles title this year.

Popyrin the best of the rest

Alexei Popyrin enjoyed the best season of his career in 2024, moving into the top 25 in the men’s singles rankings.

The 25-year-old won his first ATP tournament at the Canadian Open in August and he followed that up by reaching round four at the US Open.

Popyrin has reached the third round in Melbourne on three occasions and it would be no surprise to see him go further in 2025.

Jordan Thompson is two places behind Popyrin in the world rankings and he will want to improve on what has been frustrating displays at the Australian Open.

This will be the 30-year-old’s 12th appearance at Melbourne Park and he is yet to get past the second round, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2024.

Christopher O'Connell, Aleksandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, Thanasi Kokkinakis, James Duckworth and Adam Walton are the other home players to have their participation confirmed.

Gadecki stands alone in women's draw

It's hard to believe that with 104 players directly accepted to play in the women's singles, only one Australian is confirmed in the draw at this stage.

It is only three years since an Aussie woman won the opening Grand Slam title of the year, when Ashleigh Barty took the trophy in 2022.

Barty's retirement has highlighted a dearth of female talent coming through, with just one player currently in the top-100 of the world rankings.

That player is Olivia Gadecki, who is ranked 97 in the world having started 2024 at 120 in the WTA standings.

The Queenslander, who is a two-time mixed doubles semi-finalist, will be playing in singles for the third year at the Australian Open.

Having reached round two on her debut in 2023, she was handed a wildcard last year but was knocked out in the first round by former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

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