Alex de Minaur has been struggling on the ATP Tour recently.
Since winning the Rotterdam Open in February, De Minaur has won four matches and looked to be heading into Roland Garros riding a three-match losing streak.
Where will Alex de Minaur be ranked by the end of 2026?
He's 1-4 in his last five matches…
Hoping to find some momentum before the French Open, De Minaur entered the Hamburg Open at the last minute.
Unfortunately for the Aussie, he has been handed a nightmare draw in Germany…
Alex de Minaur given tough draw against Francisco Cerundolo in Hamburg
De Minaur will play Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the Hamburg Open.
Cerundolo, a clay-court specialist, is a dangerous first-round opponent, and arguably the best unseeded player in the draw.
With De Minaur low on confidence and clay-court match wins, he would surely have preferred an ‘easier’ opponent to begin his Hamburg Open campaign.
The 27-year-old will need to raise his level significantly if he is to avoid a fourth consecutive ATP Tour defeat.
Alex de Minaur’s Hamburg Open draw
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| 1R | Francisco Cerundolo (27) | – |
| 2R | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23) | – |
| QF | Luciano Darderi (20) | [7] Luciano Darderi |
| SF | Ben Shelton (6) | [2] Ben Shelton, [6] Tommy Paul |
| F | Felix Auger-Aliassime (5) | [1] Felix Auger-Aliassime, [4] Flavio Cobolli, [5] Karen Khachanov, [8] Frances Tiafoe |
But even if De Minaur can beat Cerundolo, things won’t get much easier from then on.
He would likely meet Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.
Davidovich Fokina hasn’t been at his best this year, largely due to injury, but on his day, he can cause problems for anyone on clay.
Looking further ahead, De Minaur could face the Italian Open star, Luciano Darderi, in the quarter-finals, and Ben Shelton or Tommy Paul in the semi-finals.
And the top seed, Felix Auger-Aliassime, could await him in the final.
He won’t want to get too far ahead of himself, though, and will first focus on getting past Cerundolo.
What is going wrong for Alex de Minaur?
When De Minaur won the Rotterdam Open in February, many wondered if he could push on and start challenging for a spot in the top five.
But a stretch of poor form followed on hard and clay courts, leaving De Minaur looking over his shoulders as the chasing pack closes in.
Alex de Minaur’s record since winning in Rotterdam (4-7)
- Mexican Open 1R [LOSS] vs Patrick Kypson, 1-6, 7-6, 6-7
- Indian Wells 2R [WIN] vs Sebastian Korda, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
- Indian Wells 3R [LOSS] vs Cameron Norrie, 4-6, 4-6
- Miami Open 2R [LOSS] vs Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-6, 6-7
- Monte Carlo Masters 2R [WIN] vs Cameron Norrie, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
- Monte Carlo Masters 3R [WIN] vs Alexander Blockx, 7-5, 7-6
- Monte Carlo Masters QF [LOSS] vs Valentin Vacherot, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6
- Barcelona Open 1R [WIN] vs Sebastian Ofner, 7-6, 6-4
- Barcelona Open 2R [LOSS] vs Hamad Medjedovic, 3-6, 4-6
- Madrid Open 2R [LOSS] vs Rafael Jodar, 3-6, 1-6
- Italian Open 2R [LOSS] vs Matteo Arnaldi, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6
The Aussie is outside the ATP Finals qualification spots, heading in the wrong direction fast, and will need to turn things around soon, or he can forget about a trip to Turin.
Live ATP Race to Turin
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 5,300 |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 3,650 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 3,040 |
| 4 | Daniil Medvedev | Russia | 2,210 |
| 5 | Arthur Fils | France | 1,890 |
| 6 | Ben Shelton | USA | 1,580 |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | Seria | 1,410 |
| 8 | Casper Ruud | Norway | 1,365 |
| 9 | Flavio Cobolli | Italy | 1,320 |
| 10 | Alex de Minaur | Australia | 1,315 |
Only time will tell if De Minaur can rediscover his best tennis over the coming months, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.
The 2026 Hamburg Open begins on Monday, May 18.
