Defending Champion De Minaur Is In A Good Place At DC Open

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur (photo: Wick Photography/Mubadala DC Open)

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 6 Alex de Minaur is at a career-high ranking, he’s just gotten married, life is good, right?

“Look, I’m in a good place, right? … and we’re in beautiful D.C., so can’t really complain,” the personable Sydneysider from Australia said during his recent pre-tournament news conference at the Mubadala DC Open, the year’s only ATP/WTA 500 combined event, which is taking place this week in the nation’s capital city of Washington, D.C.

The men’s defending champion and top seed de Minaur finally took to Stadium Court on Wednesday afternoon – albeit a day late – after a two-hour rain delay late Tuesday afternoon compressed the evening session at H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center and cancelled his first-round match against No. 51 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In opening his title defense against Tsitsipas, with the Greek star leading their career head-to-head 12-1, he faced a familiar foe who arrived on a five-match winning streak after capturing the EFG Swiss Open title in Gstaad earlier this month. To de Minaur’s credit, the No. 1 seed in Washington, D.C., hadn’t lost in the opening round of this event since Andy Murray in 2015. So, he hoped to finally put together a winning effort against Tsitsipas.

De Minaur came in leading all players in ATP 500 wins since the start of the 2023 season with 59 and owns a 12-2 win-loss record as a No. 1 seed on the ATP Tour. The Australian was playing in his first hard-court match since losing to Tsitsipas in the second round at Miami last March and aimed to extend his five-match winning streak at the DC Open.

As it happened, de Minaur pulled through a challenging three-setter and found a way to beat Tsitsipas, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in two hours and one minute to the delight of the Stadium Court audience that cheered appreciatively for him. De Minaur won on his second match-point opportunity after Tsitsipas swatted a second-shot return into the net.

“I’m very excited to be back here in D.C. after a little bit of a break,” de Minaur said. “I think it’s been great, because we obviously have a lot of year left to go. So, the plan is to finish strong, and hopefully I can get started here and kind of start my, you know, American hard court swing off well here in D.C.”

Quite naturally, after marrying British tennis star Katie Boulter earlier this month in Tuscany – a wedding that was heavily publicized in British Vogue – the media at de Minaur’s news conference wanted not only to congratulate the newlywed but also to ask him about the wedding. 

“The wedding was great. It was everything we could have ever imagined,” de Minaur said, smiling. “It was amazing to be able to kind of just be with close ones and family and friends and ultimately forget about tennis for a little while.

“Of course, we had a lot of fun.

“But the way the season works, we’re back to work, right? We’re back to being tennis players. That being said, I don’t think much has changed for me being married. I think same old-same old. I’m definitely very excited to kind of get going. …

“I think it’s been a great little kind of stop in the middle of the season where I’ve been able to kind of take a step back and kind of refresh and get a lot of energy to hopefully finish the year strong.”

De Minaur arrived this week with a 27-14 win-loss record and one title to his credit, an ATP 500 crown won indoors at Rotterdam last February. In addition, he’s been a quarterfinalist this season at the Australian Open and Monte-Carlo, a semifinalist at Hamburg, a finalist at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and a quarterfinalist at Queen’s Club.

Against Tsitsipas, de Minaur won 79 percent (45 of 57) of his first-serve points, hit 15 winners to overcome 31 unforced errors, saved five of seven break points, converted three of six break-point chances against Tsitsipas and and outpointed his opponent 95-85. Mission accomplished: first match as a married man and first win since getting married.

“Coming in, I really didn’t have too many expectations. It was a quick turnaround,” de Minaur said during his on-court interview. “I’m glad that I was able to find a way in a tricky match. It wasn’t pretty tennis, but I did just enough to get over the line and I’m happy with that.

“Stefanos has been an incredible player for a very long time. He’s able to really hold that inside-out forehand really well and if you’re not able to find his backhand, you’re in a lot of trouble. In the past, I didn’t serve the best when I played him. Today I changed it up a little bit and it ended up working out for me.”

De Minaur said he looks forward to the second half of the 2026 season, much of it which will be spent on outdoor hard courts. “I think over the last couple of years I’ve definitely noticed that this part of the year, you know, from the clay, going onto the grass and finishing at Wimbledon, I found it very important for me to take some time off to kind of make sure that I can get back on the horse and finish the year strong,” he said. … “I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Toward the end of de Minaur’s pre-tournament news conference, the subject of his friend and next opponent, 17-year-old Australian teenager Cruz Hewitt, the son of Australian Davis Cup captain and Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt, came up.

“It’s great to see what he’s been doing, especially as of late. I think he’s doing the right things,” the 27-year-old de Minaur said of the younger Hewitt, who on Tuesday won his first ATP Tour main-draw match. “We both actually arrived here early, and we practiced the first couple of days together, so we’ve got some good reps in.

“So, it’s great to see him, you know, doing what he’s doing. He’s got a lot of weapons. He plays very free. He’s going to be a dangerous player, for sure, and obviously I don’t think he’s too scared of the moment, which is something that’s very important at a young age.

“It’s great to see him doing what he’s doing, obviously having Lleyton in his corner, the way he’s handling the pressure, the expectation, the eyeballs that he would have being Lleyton’s son. He’s a good kid, and he’s definitely doing the right things. I wish him nothing but the best, and I’m sure we’re going to have plenty of years playing together.”

Around the Mubadala DC Open

Men:

• No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States aimed to advance to his third DC Open quarterfinal in the last four editions. He took on Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, who ousted Tommy Paul on Tuesday and looked to become the third man to record four Top-10 wins this season, joining Jannik Sinner (10) and Flavio Cobolli (four).

Fritz won their only previous meeting at Indian Wells in 2022 and now aimed to reach at least the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive event played in. He did just that and is quarterfinals-bound after his 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 16 minutes on Stadium Court.

In garnering his 25th victory of the season, Fritz looked mentally strong and physically fresh. He fired 14 aces and won 90 percent (28 of 31) of his first-serve points. He struck 32 winners, made 26 unforced errors, faced no break points on his serve and converted two of 10 break-point chances. He outpointed Majchrzak 70-51.

Next, Fritz will face No. 40 Alex Michelsen of the United States, who advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over No. 47 Adrian Mannarino of France in one hour and 47 minutes on John Harris Court behind 11 aces and by winning 79 percent (34 of 43) of his first-serve points. Michelsen outpointed Mannarino 76-67.

• No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy advanced to his first quarterfinal since Barcelona last April with his 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over qualifier Aleksandar Vukic of Australia. The World No. 15 Musetti hit eight aces and won 77 percent (36 of 47) of his first-serve points. He converted five of 16 break points and outpointed the 105th-ranked Vukic 99-91.

Next, Musetti will face No. 24 Rafael Jodar of Spain, who eliminated wild card Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-3, 6-2, in 69 minutes on Stadium Court. Jodar saved all three break points he faced and converted three of three break-point opportunities against Nishikori. He outpointed his opponent 60-42.

Women:

• Defending champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, ranked 34th, took on No. 28 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines to start the day on Stadium Court, in their second career meeting. Fernandez was looking to reach her 26th career tour-level quarterfinal – and fourth of the season after quarterfinal finishes at Stuttgart, Strasbourg and Madrid. Meanwhile, Eala, in her Washington, D.C., debut was attempting to reach her eighth career tour-level quarterfinal – and fifth this season after semifinal finishes at Auckland and Berlin and quarterfinal runs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

As it happened, Eala came from 1-5 down in the second set and fought her way to a straight-set 6-2, 7-6 (1) victory in one hour and 53 minutes to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round, dethroning Fernandez in the process. It’s the second-straight event that Eala has upended a defending champion, four weeks after upsetting Iga Swiatek in the third round at Wimbledon.

“I’m really happy with the match today,” Eala said during her post-match news conference. “I think there were a lot of difficult positions, especially in that second set, so happy with how I fought.”

Eala converted four of nine break points and won 49 percent (36 of 74) of her total return points. She outpointed Fernandez 79-61.

When Eala was asked by a reporter what it meant to beat Fernandez, the defending champion and someone whom beat the Filipina earlier this season on indoor clay in Stuttgart, she replied:

“It means a lot. I think every win at this level is very meaningful for me, because end of the day, I’m playing the top of the top,” Eala said. “That’s why I come into every match with all the intention that I could possibly have. I come out of each match, especially if I win, you know, feeling really accomplished, yeah, because I think at this level, everybody is fighting, everybody is good. So, all these wins mean a lot for me.”

Despite losing to Eala, Fernandez heaped praise upon her. “Honestly, Alex has been playing really well. I think the biggest thing is that she’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Fernandez said. “She’s trusting herself, trusting her shots, her patterns, and a lot of her balls are going in. So that’s the big difference. I feel like she’s progressing well. Whatever she’s doing with her team is working, yeah.”

In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Eala will face either World No. 10 and second seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine or Polina Kudermetova of Uzbekistan, who play their second-round match on Thursday.

• No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan, making her third appearance in Washington, D.C., after falling twice in the 2018 and 2025 second rounds, advanced over No. 67 Ashlyn Kruger of the United States by retirement, ahead 6-3, 3-1, after just 54 minutes,  in a featured evening match on Stadium Court. 

Osaka, improved to 13-2 against players ranked outside the Top 50 this season and reached her 38th career tour-level quarterfinal – her 31st  on a hard court – and third in 2026 after finishing runner-up at Bad Homburg and making a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon.

Next, Osaka will face Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, who upset No. 8 seed Emma Navarro of the United States, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, in two hours and 15 minutes on John Harris Court. The 71st-ranked Cocciaretto converted six of 13 break points and outpointed Navarro 97-85.

• No. 70 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, who won the 2022 DC Open title, upset No. 42 Wang Xinyu of China, 6-2, 6-2, to reach her first WTA quarterfinal since Abu Dhabi last February.

Doubles:

• In men’s doubles, No. 2 seeds Christian Harrison of the United States and Neal Skupski of Great Britain were upset by unseeded  Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in one hour and 37 minutes  in a quarterfinal-round match. 

• In women’s doubles, wild cards Diana Shnaider of Russia and Venus Williams of the United States fell to China’s Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 15 minutes for a berth in the semifinals.

Wednesday’s Mubadala DC Open men’s results

Wednesday’s Mubadala DC Open women’s results

Thursday’s Mubadala DC Open order of play

By the numbers

No. 24 Rafael Jodar of Spain, who beat Kei Nishikori of Japan in straight sets Wednesday evening,  has reached the quarterfinals at sixth of seven tour-level events he’s played in since April.

“Quotable …”

“Before I went out today, his main advice was just to enjoy it, enjoy the opportunity I had. Then obviously when I enjoy it, I think I bring my best game when I’m having fun, as well.”

– Cruz Hewitt, 17, of Australia, during his post-match news conference Tuesday after winning his first ATP Tour main-draw match over Marcos Giron of the United States.

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