Melbourne, VIC, 30 November 2019 | tennis.com.au

Alex de Minaur began and ended his 2019 season in strong style.

In just his second event of the year, he won the Sydney International for his first career title. And in his last outing, at the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, he went undefeated in singles for Australia, helping guide the green-and-gold into the quarterfinals.

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In between there were many more highlights. The 20-year-old advanced to a total of five finals in 2019, eventually cracking the top 20 — attaining a career-high ranking of 18th — and finishing the year with a win-loss record of 41-20 and almost US$2 million in prize money.

We recap De Minaur’s many highlights in the build-up to the 2019 Newcombe Medal, Australian Tennis Awards on Monday 2 December in Melbourne.

JANUARY

• After reaching the Brisbane quarterfinals, rips through the Sydney International field without the loss of a set, with five wins earning him his first tour-level title — in his home city, no less.

FEBRUARY

• Beats Mirza Basic as part of Australia’s dominant 4-0 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in Adelaide to qualify for the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid.

JULY

• Wins second ATP title of the season (and career) in Atlanta; during the tournament he did not face a break point and dropped just seven first-serve points across four matches.

AUGUST

• Beats world No.7 Kei Nishikori in the third round of the US Open, his first career victory over a top-10 opponent and a result sending him through to the last 16 of a Grand Slam event for the first time.

SEPTEMBER

• Wins third title of the season in Zhuhai, beating world No.9 Roberto Bautista Agut in the semis for his second top-10 win.

OCTOBER

• Advances to the ATP 500 Swiss Indoors final in Basel, beating Dellien, Fritz, Struff and Opelka before Federer proved too strong in the final. Cracks top 20 (at No.18) as a result.

NOVEMBER

• Runner-up at the Next Gen ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, undefeated in the group stages yet falling to Jannik Sinner in the title match.
• Goes 3-0 in singles play in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, part of the Australian team which reached the quarterfinals.