Team Australia has reached the semifinals of the 2024 United Cup. On Wednesday, Australia swept Serbia in all three matches at the RAC Arena in Perth, and will play either Greece or Germany in the next round.
However, there was one Australian win on Wednesday, that stood out over all the rest. That was the first of three matches in the tie. For the first time in his career, Alex de Minaur of Sydney, defeated the world number one and 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 6-4, 6-4.
Throughout the match Djokovic was dealing with a wrist injury. It was generating so much pain, he needed to call the trainer for a medical timeout.
The de Minaur win over Djokovic was also significant because it ended Djokovic’s 43 match winning streak in Australia according to The Guardian. The last time Djokovic lost in Australia was on January 22, 2018, when he lost 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 to Hyeon Chung of South Korea in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Since then, Djokovic has won four Australian Open titles (28 wins), the 2020 ATP Cup (six wins), two round robin matches at the 2021 ATP Cup, the 2023 Adelaide International (five wins), and two round robin matches at the 2024 United Cup.
Of the 28 wins for Djokovic at the Australian Open since 2019, one win came over de Minaur. That was in the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Open, which Djokvic won 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Also in Australia’s win over Serbia on Wednesday, Australian players won the women’s singles match and mixed doubles match. In women’s singles, Ajla Tomljanovic of Brisbane beat Natalija Stevanovic rather easily, 6-1, 6-1. Then in mixed doubles, Storm Hunter of Rockhampton, and Matthew Ebden of Perth beat Dejana Radanovic and Nikola Cacic, 6-3, 6-3.
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