Editing De Minaur Popyrin Headline Newcombe Medal Nominees

Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin headline a hot list of seven nominees for the Newcombe Medal as Australian tennis's player of the year.<br><br>De Minaur is an odds-on favourite to snare a third medal after crowning his finest season yet by becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to qualify for the elite eight-man ATP Finals.<br><br>Ordinarily, Popyrin and Olympic Games gold medallists Matt Ebden and John Peers would also have strong winning claims.<br><br>Popyrin shot to stardom as the first Australian since also since Hewitt in 2003 to capture a Masters 1000 title in Montreal before taking down the great Novak Djokovic is a seismic US Open upset in New York.<br><br>The 25-year-old's breakout season has the former French Open junior champion knocking on the door of the world's top 20 and set for a first-time grand slam seeding at the Australian Open in January.<br><br>Peers and Ebden joined the legendary Woodies - Mark Woodforde and Todd Woobridge - as Olympic gold medallist with a stirring comeback win in Paris over Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.<br><br>Jordan Thompson, who banked more than $1 million in a life-changing fortnight at Flushing Meadows, his doubles-winning partner Max Purcell and rising women's star Olivia Gadecki also earned nominations.<br><br>Thompson fell to de Minaur in the singles fourth round in New York before landing a maiden grand slam crown with his doubles triumph with Purcell and, like Popyrin, is also in line to be seeded at Melbourne Park.<br><br>Gadecki, a long-time protege of Ash Barty, soared into the world's top 100 with a career-best run to the Guadalajara Open final in September.<br><br>De Minaur, though, will not be denied after enjoying another watershed campaign in 2024 underlined by a series of career firsts.<br><br>The 25-year-old made three consecutive grand slam quarter-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and  [https://administrasibisnis.stiapen.ac.id/?gitink=sensa69 bokep] the US Open, surging to No.6 in the world after his charge at the All [https://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=England%20Club England Club].<br><br>Despite suffering the heartbreak of having to withdraw from a scheduled Wimbledon [https://www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=quarter-final quarter-final] blockbuster with Djokovic with a hip injury, de Minaur rebounded to produce another Hewitt-like feat at Flushing Meadows.<br><br>In reaching the last eight for a second time, de Minaur was the first Australian since his idol and Davis Cup captain in 2005 to make three major quarters in a calendar year.  <br><br>He looks a shoo-in to add a third "Newk" to his 2018 and 2023 medals.<br><br>"It's been a great year for me, a year of many firsts, cracking a lot of milestones and a lot of goals that I've set out with the whole team," de Minaur said.<br><br>"I'm extremely proud of everything that has been accomplished."