Alex de Minaur records 200th hard-court win of career with opening victory in Doha

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The Australian, who just turned 26 yesterday, is the first man born in 1999 or later to reach that milestone.

Alex de Minaur made a winning start in Doha on Tuesday, defeating Roman Safiullin, 6-1, 7-5, in the first round of the ATP 500 event.

And it carried much more weight than just a first-round win—it was also the milestone 200th hard-court win of his career.

The Australian, who just celebrated his 26th birthday on Monday, is the first man born in 1999 or later to accumulate 200 career hard-court wins, just edging current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner to that number.

MOST HARD-COURT WINS, MEN BORN IN 1999 OR LATER (tour-level):

200: Alex de Minaur [born in 1999]
195: Jannik Sinner [born in 2001]
159: Denis Shapovalov [born in 1999]
154: Felix Auger-Aliassime [born in 2000]
114: Carlos Alcaraz [born in 2003]
102: Miomir Kecmanovic [born in 1999]
No other men born in 1999 or later have hit triple digits yet.

De Minaur is also just the third Australian man in the Open Era to net 200 hard-court wins after Lleyton Hewitt (372) and Patrick Rafter (212).

De Minaur seemed headed for a quicker victory on Tuesday—he originally led 6-1, 5-3 and was two points away with Safiullin serving at 0-30 in the next game—but the Russian won four points in a row to hold, then broke serve to even the second set up at 5-all.

But De Minaur broke right back in the next game for a 6-5 lead then held one last time to close out the one-hour, 38-minute encounter.

Awaiting the No. 2 seed in the second round of the newly-upgraded ATP 500 event will be Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Jordanian wild card Abdullah Shelbayh.

De Minaur has won both of his previous meetings against former Top 30 player Van de Zandschulp, including a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory just last month in the opening round of the Australian Open.

HOT SHOT: Alex de Minaur’s overhead has Daniel Altmaier throwing his racquet

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