Melbourne VIC, Australia, 22 November 2018 | tennis.com.au

At just 19 years of age, Alex de Minaur is a Newcombe Medal nominee for the first time in his burgeoning career. Here is a snapshot of his 2018 season.

Win-loss

51-30 (28-23 at tour level)

Most notable victories

d. #23 Chung – Washington DC 3R
d. #24 Raonic – Brisbane 2R
d. #29 Cecchinato – Wimbledon 1R
d. #29 Simon – Stockholm 1R

Ranking move

+177 (2018 year-end ranking of No.31, after finishing 2017 at No.208)

Best tournament result

Finalist Washington DC
De Minaur advanced to his first ATP 500 final thanks to victories over Vasek Pospisil, Steve Johnson, Hyeon Chung and Andrey Rublev – saving four match points against Rublev in the semifinals.

Other notable results

In summary

Two years ago, De Minaur was contesting the Wimbledon junior final. Few players have enjoyed a more rapid and successful transition to the professional circuit. His 2018 season started with a bang in Australia, where he thrilled fans with his semifinal run at the Brisbane International before selling out Ken Rosewall Arena en route to the Sydney International final a week later. For the next few months the teenager enjoyed plenty of match play, and wins, on the Challenger circuit, peaking on grass with a finals appearance in Surbiton and a triumphant week in Nottingham. That set the stage for his third-round showing at Wimbledon – his best performance at a major at the time – where he debuted on Centre Court against Rafael Nadal.

There was more success on US hard courts; a trip to the final in Washington DC and a third-round showing at Flushing Meadows, where he pushed Marin Cilic to five sets in one of the matches of the US Open. Another ATP semifinal – this time in Shenzhen – followed  before the Aussie capped his year with a runner-up trophy at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

In De Minaur’s words …

“It’s been an incredible year full of highs and things I never expected. I’ve really just enjoyed every second of it. It’s been a pleasure to compete at this level. The Australian summer was just insane. The support I got was incredible.” (interview with Sport360)

The Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards will be streamed live from Melbourne’s Palladium Ballroom on Tennis Australia’s Facebook page, beginning at 6.30pm AEDT on Monday 26 November.