Australian star could reach career-high No.5 after United Cup
“Ultimately, these are the goals I will pursue. Whether I achieve this goal next week, at the end of the year, or in the middle of the year, I will look forward to hopefully finishing the year on a higher level than last year. That is my main goal.”
Team Australia captain Hewitt also said Minaur would be better after winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 against Hurkacz on Friday.
“Alex had to dig deep and find a way, and he was able to stay in the opening set long enough to win it,” Hewitt said.
“And I thought it was a great performance from Alex and perfect preparation for him to go to Melbourne now.”
This was a difficult tournament for de Minaur’s 19-year-old teammate Maya Joint, who was seeded for the Australian Open.
Joint was able to return to draws against the Czech Republic and Poland after a flu case earlier in the week caused her to miss her opening match against Norway’s Malene Helgo.
Maya Joint in action against Poland’s Iga Swiatek.Credit: Getty Images
However, she found herself facing two-time grand slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first and six-time champion Iga Swiatek in the second, losing both in straight sets.
This means Joint travels to the Adelaide International next week and is still trying to get his first win of 2026.
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“Maya put up a great fight,” Hewitt said. “His kicking the ball tonight was a lot better than it was a few days ago and it was a tough one for him, of course he cheated and had a few days off before he came.
“I think he is in much better shape than he was a few days ago because of the bigger picture of the Australian Open and his match next week.”
Playing the tournament for the first time, Joint said it was a valuable learning experience.
“I’m so lucky to learn from all these players here,” he said. “The matches I played were all very high quality, I think it was perfect preparation for AO.”
