‘A very successful summer’: Is Australia heading towards a golden era of tennis?

Catching Lleyton Hewitt at the US Open this year has been truly captivating. As Australia's Davis Cup captain, he's been a constant courtside presence, cheering on his players at every match he can physically attend. The transformation in Hewitt is remarkable—once known for his fiery demeanor on the court, especially in his younger days, he's now the epitome of calm and positivity. His steady presence seems to be just the boost the next generation of Australian talent needs to shine.

And they really have been inspired. Led by Alex de Minaur, a player cut from the same cloth as Hewitt in terms of game style, Australia's men have enjoyed a brilliant US Open. Of the 12 men in the draw, four made it to the third round for the first time since 1997 and three—De Minaur, Jordan Thompson, and Alexei Popyrin—reached round four, the best effort since 1988. Popyrin’s win over Novak Djokovic in the third round signaled a major personal breakthrough, Thanasi Kokkinakis showcased his talent by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, and De Minaur has now made the quarters in each of the past three tournaments.

It is still too early to say if any of them will step up to match the exploits of Pat Rafter, who won the title here in 1997 and 1998, or Mark Philippoussis, who lost to Rafter in the second of those finals and reached the Wimbledon final in 2003. But in De Minaur, who beat Thompson to make the quarter-finals and is favored to beat Jack Draper next up, Australia has someone who is a real threat in the biggest events and who, by extension, is inspiring and pulling his countrymen along with him.

Whether Nick Kyrgios, the most recent Australian to make a grand slam final, at Wimbledon in 2021, will return to boost the ranks even further remains to be seen. He has been struggling to regain full fitness after wrist surgery. But even without him, there are now 10 Australian men in the world’s top 100. With De Minaur in the top 10 and Popyrin and Thompson sitting at or near career-high rankings of 23 and 29 respectively, there can be no doubt that things are moving in the right direction.

Alexei Popyrin celebrates his victory over Novak Djokovic at the US Open. The progress of Popyrin, in particular, has been little short of spectacular. His victory in Montreal last month, when he beat Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz, Seb Korda, and Andrey Rublev, made him the first Australian since Hewitt in 2003 to win a Masters 1000 title. 🏆

Upsetting Djokovic proved to himself that he belongs at the top level. Though his defeat by Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round here was a missed opportunity, he has undeniably moved up a couple of levels.

“Look, I’m telling everybody now, if you had told me at the start of the summer I would be 23 in the world with a Masters title and second week of a slam for the first time, I probably would have taken it considering the position I was in,” he said. “If I hadn’t won a match in Montreal or Cincy, I probably would have dropped to outside 90 in the world. So considering all that, I think it was a very successful summer.”

De Minaur has been taking care of business in typically impressive fashion, and his recovery from the hip injury that forced him out at Wimbledon has gone better than even he anticipated. The 25-year-old has kept a close eye on his Davis Cup teammates, players he has grown up with and whom he now inspires through his professionalism. Popyrin, he believes, is a new player.

Hewitt’s calm leadership, De Minaur’s consistency, and Popyrin’s spectacular breakthroughs are reshaping the landscape for Australian tennis. 🇦🇺 With a perfect mix of emerging talent and experienced guidance, the future looks bright for Australian men's tennisss.