Alex de Minaur leads a group of five Australian men to competing in the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai this week.
Shanghai, China, 1 October 2025 | Rhys de Deugd
As the second-last ATP Masters 1000 event of the season takes place this week in Shanghai, Alex de Minaur enters the tournament in strong form and with a great opportunity ahead.
With a chance to make up for the points he missed after withdrawing due to injury last year, De Minaur arrives in Shanghai following a career-best China Open campaign in Beijing, where he reached the semifinals of the ATP 500 event.
His run came to an end when he was defeated in three sets by top seed, and heavy favourite, Jannik Sinner.
“I mean, you take the positives,” said De Minaur, who forced 12 break point opportunities for the match.
“Overall, I believe it was a match that he ended up winning because I had five minutes where I dropped my level, and it wasn’t even bad tennis, I just dropped it for a moment.”
Despite this result extending Sinner’s head-to-head lead over De Minaur to 11-0, the match remained in the balance throughout, and this was by far De Minaur’s best performance against the four-time Grand Slam champion.
“I’m proud of my efforts. I think it definitely comes down to the amount of break points I have and I’m not able to break,” he said. “But ultimately, it was just Jannik being too good in those moments.”
De Minaur leads a five-strong Aussie contingent at this week’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, all aiming to become the first Australian to lift the trophy in the tournament’s history.
Adam Walton, Jordan Thompson, and Chris O’Connell all received direct entry into the event, while Tristan Schoolkate earned his spot through qualifying.
Schoolkate continues his breakthrough year at ATP Masters 1000 level, qualifying for his third main draw of the season in 2025.
The West Australian defeated Beibit Zhukayev of Kazakhstan to become the lone Australian qualifier, after winning a three-set thriller over fellow Aussie James McCabe in the opening round.
Schoolkate will face Daniel Altmaier in the first round of the main draw, while Queenslander Walton will face Mattia Bellucci.
New South Welshmen Thompson and O’Connell will face August Holmgren and Damir Dzumhur, respectively.
Rinky Hijikata, Aleksandar Vukic and Jason Kubler all narrowly missed out on the main draw after falling in the final stage of qualifying.
AUSSIES IN ACTION: SHANGHAI MASTERS
Aussies in singles: Alex de Minaur (world No.8), Adam Walton (world No.77), Jordan Thompson (world No.78), Tristan Schoolkate (world No.100), Chris O’Connell (world No.103),
Aussies in doubles: Draw yet to be released
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