Alex de Minaur recently suffered one of the biggest upsets of his career at the Acapulco Open.
De Minaur was one of the favourites heading into the event, but was stunned by world number 103 Patrick Kypson in the first round.
The Australian will look to bounce back from this defeat in Indian Wells – a tournament where he has never made it past the fourth round.
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Despite winning 11 ATP Tour titles, the ‘Demon’ is still yet to prove that he can win the biggest events on Tour.
However, he now has an opportunity to dispel those doubts.
Alex de Minaur would silence his doubters by winning Indian Wells
Despite being an established top 10 player, Alex de Minaur has a pretty poor record at Masters 1000 events.
The Australian has made the final of one Masters 1000 in 54 attempts: the 2023 Canadian Open.
He has also made one semi-final appearance and six quarter-final appearances at these events during his career.
When considering the talent of the Australian, Alex de Minaur has underachieved at Masters 1000 events – particularly in Indian Wells.
De Minaur has failed to make it past in the fourth round once in eight attempts at the event, and has exited the tournament in the second round on three occasions.
Last year, De Minaur beat David Goffin and Hubert Hurkacz before losing to Francisco Cerúndolo in the fourth round.
After beating De Minaur, Cerundolo said: “I am super happy, I knew it was going to be a battle today.
“Alex is an amazing player, a fighter. He is having some great years, a top-10 player and we had a battle in Australia and it went his side but today I had another match, another opportunity and I think I did really well. I am super happy to beat a high-quality player and be in the quarter-finals in Indian Wells.”
For a player who is ‘completely unique’, De Minaur’s Masters 1000 record is simply not good enough; and he could change that narrative by triumphing in Indian Wells later this month.
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Alex de Minaur’s 2026 Indian Wells draw
As the sixth seed at this year’s event, De Minaur has received a bye through to the second round.
There he will face Francisco Comesana or Sebastian Korda, who recently won the Delray Beach Open.
From there, De Minaur is likely to face Cameron Norrie in the third round, before a possible meeting with Alexander Bublik in the fourth round.
In the quarter-finals, de Minaur could play Jack Draper, Novak Djokovic, Francisco Cerúndolo or Daniil Medvedev, who recently won his second title of the year at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
