How Alex de Minaur can achieve top 5 feat for the first time

(Getty/Kirill Kudryavtsev)

Australia's Alex de Minaur is a few results shy of reaching a new career high, but he will have to wait nervously.

Having entered this Wimbledon as the fifth seed due to the withdrawal of world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz, de Minaur yet again had a tournament go begging after a fourth round exit to world No.10 and recent Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.

"I'm broken inside. That's the reality," a dejected de Minaur shared post-match. "You invest so many hours into this job and so many years to have moments like these. Not being able to live up to it is truly heartbreaking. It's very hard. 

"I won't be playing a tournament for a while. But again, they keep piling up. The goals, the belief, the dreams you have start fading away or feeling a little bit further out of reach than they once were. I feel like a couple of years ago, I was definitely closer. Now I just feel like I'm drifting a little further away from those dreams. It's getting harder and harder. That's the reality."

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Despite the bitter disappointment, the 27-year-old can still reach a career-high No.5 in the world when the new rankings are released next Monday.

However, destiny isn't in his own hands.

The equation for de Minaur is as follows:

• Novak Djokovic needs to lose his semi-final against Jannik Sinner

• Alex Zverev needs to reach the final OR if he loses his quarter-final against Taylor Fritz, world No.114 Brit Arthur Fery needs to make the final, as Flavio Cobolli and Fritz can leapfrog de Minaur if either player reaches the final.

The Demon currently sits fifth in the live ATP rankings after successfully defending fourth round points at Wimbledon, as he lost to Novak Djokovic at the same stage 12 months ago.

De Minaur secured a career-high No.6 in July 2024.

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