Alex de Minaur is through to the second round of the Washington Open, but he had to earn it the hard way. The Australian defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets despite losing 12 of his previous 13 meetings against the Greek star. It was a statement win, and it came courtesy of a format shake-up that is already generating plenty of buzz around the tournament.
Washington has trimmed its field from 48 players down to 32 this year, and the immediate effect is a draw packed with high-profile first-round collisions. De Minaur found himself facing a former world No. 3 right out of the gate, which under the old format simply would not have happened for a seeded player of his calibre.
Far from complaining, though, de Minaur embraced the concept. Speaking after his win, he described the change as genuinely positive for the sport, noting that stacked draws and "brutal" opening rounds are better for spectators and viewers alike. He acknowledged needing to be ready from the very first ball, and he delivered exactly that.
Next up is a fascinating all-Australian encounter with Cruz Hewitt, son of Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt. Should de Minaur advance, Jakub Mensik looms as a likely quarterfinal opponent, with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton potentially waiting further down the path.
The stakes are also significant in terms of rankings. De Minaur currently sits at world No. 5 and needs a deep run to protect points earned from winning the title last year, a campaign that included victories over Brandon Nakashima, Corentin Moutet, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Four of his 11 career titles have come at ATP 500 level, making events like Washington his natural hunting ground.
TennisDraw users have de Minaur positioned as a top contender this week, so the bracket picture gets even more intriguing from here.
