Australian Open 2019: Which Aussie men are playing in Melbourne?

World No: 29

The incredible rise of Alex de Minaur will see the 19-year-old headline the Australian contenders at Melbourne Park.

Now ranked 29th in the world, de Minaur finsihed 2018 as the highest ranked Australian male on Tour and in November he was announced as the joint-winner of the Newcombe Medal alongside Ash Barty. 

Starting 2018 outside the top 200, de Minaur was crowned as the ATP's Newcomer of the Year. He began his breakout season with runs to the Brisbane semi-finals and Sydney final.

A year later, the teenager made the quarter-finals in Queensland before he was knocked out by former world No.5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and is set to reach the semi-final in Sydney.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Pedro Sousa 6-4 7-5 6-4

Round Two: v Henri Laaksonen

World No. 38

John Millman became a household name after the unheralded Australian took down Roger Federer in the fourth round of the US Open last year.

A 12-year veteran on tour, Millman enjoyed his best season to date after several injuries and surgeries kept him off the court for throughout his career.

His luck turned in 2018 when he made his first ATP Final in Budapest, and won two challenger titles. He went on to crack the top 50 ATP rankings for the first time in July, and has since risen to a career-high ranking of world No. 38.

Millman's story has earned him a cult following among Aussie tennis fans, but it’s not just the public who are inspired.

“It’s amazing,” Nick Kyrgios told Sporting News when asked of Millman’s comeback.

“I’ve never come back from an injury like what he’s had to go through – I can’t imagine what it’s like.

“Putting that dedication and hard work in is never easy, but Johnny, I never doubted he’d be one to not come back from injury like that.

“And look where he is today – he beat Roger at the US Open, so it’s pretty special.”

Millman was knockedo out of the round-of-32 at the Brisbane International, but has managed to set up a quarter-final clash with Gilles Simon in Sydney.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Federico Delbonis 6-3 3-6 7-6 6-2

Round Two: v Roberto Bautista Agut

World No. 47

Rising into the world's top 50 in 2018, veteran Aussie Matt Ebden is set to go the distance at this year's Australian Open.

A 29-year-old Ebden started 2017 ranked world No. 699 after enduring long stints off the court with an injured knee. Fast forward to 2019, he nearly broke into the world's top 30 twice last year and finished the season ranked 46.

Ebden took his first win against a top 20 player at a Grand Slam in last year's Australian Open when he defeated by 16th seed John Isner in the first round.

The Western Australian began the 2019 season at the Hopman Cup, partnering WTA No.15 Ashleigh Barty. The pair tied with France and overcame Spain, but narrowly missed out on the final after they lost to a strong German outfit.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 1-6 6-4 6-3 6-4

Round Two: v Rafael Nadal

World No. 51

Nick Kyrgios has suffered another drastic drop in the ATP rankings, falling to No.51 after starting the year at No.35.

Dropping outside the top-50 means that the 23-year-old will be unseeded for the Australian Open, which begins on January 14.

Kyrgios has endured a rocky start to the season after he was knocked out of the Brisbane International by France's Jeremy Chardy in the second round. At the Kooyong Classic, the former Australian number one was defeated by controversial star Bernard Tomic in an exhibition match that fans lauded as an 'absolute joke'. 

As the Canberra native enters the Grand Slam unseeded, the top players fear meeting Kyrgios early in the tournament.

“He’s one of the best players in the world – no doubt – he has the passion to play,” Rafael Nadal told Sporting News.

“He’s one of the players that is very tough to play against... he’s able to create special shots and he’s very talented."

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Knocked out by Milos Raonic [17] 4-6 6-7 4-6

World No. 72

After dropping out of the ATP to play in the Challengers, Jordan Thompson became the second player to record 52 wins on the Challenger Tour in a single season.

The Sydneysider is set to make his sixth consecutive appearence at the Australian Open after achieving direct entry into the main draw.

“In my books, I’ve had a little bit of a rough year, I only won one match on the ATP Tour so I had to go back to Challengers. I just had to put my head down and work hard," Thompson said at the end of 2018.

The 24-year-old has had a strong start to 2019, claiming his first top-50 win in more than a year when he defeated Adrian Mannarino in the first round of the Sydney International.

Thompson is set to face Australia's highest ranked player Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-1 7-6 6-3

Round Two: Knocked out by Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-4 6-4

World No.85

Spending the 2018 tennis summer in the jungle on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Bernard Tomic is set to make his long anticipated return to the Australian Open.

The bizarre reality stint marked the first time since 2008 that Tomic had failed to appear in the main draw of the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old's hiatus saw him blow his rankgs down to 243 in the world, after reaching No. 17 in 2016.

Qualifying for the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in the Netherlands, Tomic made his first ATP tour semi-final in more than two-years. The result pushed him back inside the top 150 rankings.

Tomic went on to win his first ATP title in three years when he defeated top-seeded Fabio Fognini at the Chengdu Open.

However, the controversial Queenslander has already made headlines before the Australia Open kicks off next week, slamming the organiser's choice to use Dunlop tennis balls and criticising former doubles partner Nick Kyrgios.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Knocked out by Marin Cilic [6] 6-2 6-4 7-6

World No. 113

Often dubbed as the 'right-hand version of Rafael Nadal,' Jason Kubler has overcome several injury setbacks to earn his second Australian Open wildcard.

The 25-year-old has endured a roller-coaster tennis career which has seen him rise to then fall out of the ATP rankings.

After five operations on his left knee and one operation on his right knee, Kubler began his comeback trail in 2018.

The Queenslander made his first appearance in a grand slam main draw in eight years at the Australian Open, where he took a set off 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round.

He then qualified for Wimbledon and went on to make the second round at the US Open. 

Finishing the season at No.114, Kubler was nominated alongside eventual winner Novak Djokovic for the ATP Comeback Player of the Year Award.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Knocked out by Thomas Fabbiano 4-6 6-7 6-2 3-6

World No. 147

Sydney's Alexei Popyrin is set to return to the Australian Open for the second time after making his Grand Slam debut at the event last year.

The former Roland Garros junior champion enjoyed a breakout 2018 which saw the youngster crack into the world's top 150.

At 19-years-old, Popyrin won his first ATP Challenger title in Jinan and went on to qualify for the Stockholm and Basel Opens.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Mischa Zverev 7-5 7-6 6-4

World No. 154

Improving his rank from world No.246 in February to a career-high No.139, Alex Bolt was awarded with an Australian Open wildcard after he enjoyed a whirlwind 2018.

The 26-year-old made his ATP main-draw debut at Wimbledon last year, where he lost to Britain's highest-ranked male Kyle Edmund in the first-round.

However, the South Australian also won the Zhuhai Challenger title earlier in the year and also reached the Challenger final in Fairfield, US.

"Towards the end of the season I was playing some really good tennis," Bolt said at the Australian Open playoffs last year.

"I sort of brought that through into my training block and I’ve been training hard, and yeah, I guess I’ve continued that form."

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Defeated Jack Sock 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

Round Two: v Gilles Simon

World No.166

21-years-old Marc Polmans enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2018, cracking the world's 150 by October.

Starting the year at No.318, the Vicotrian claimed four professional titles to conclude the season with a ranking of 144.

After winning 24 straight matches on the Australian Pro Tour, Polmans went on to reach the ATP Challenger finals in Tallahassee and Stockton.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT:

Round One: Knocked out by Denis Kudla 7-5 6-1 2-6 3-6 2-6

World No.234

James Duckworth is set to make his long awaited return to the Australian Open after an extended stint in the casualty ward.

The former world No.82 began his comeback trail last year after his injury saw him drop outside the top 1,000 players.

Defeating Luke Saville at the Australian Open playoffs, the 26-year-old won a wildcard to secure his place in the Grand Slam for the first time in two years.

“There were definitely times over the last few years when I thought maybe I’d never play tennis again, let alone the Australian Open,” Duckworth said after the match.

“It was tough sitting on the sidelines and going through so much rehab and spending so much time on the operating table as well. So to be able to get back is just a dream come true."

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT

Round One: Knocked out by Rafael Nadal [2] 4-6 3-6 5-7

World No: 145

Kokkinakis has secured his place in the main draw of the 2019 Australian Open after defeating Peter Polansky 6-4 6-4 in the final round of qualifying. 

During qualifying, he also defeated Mohamed Safwat and Sebastian Ofner, not dropping a single set. 

This will be Kokkinakis' fifth time in the Australian Open main draw. 

In 2018, he lost in the first round to Daniil Medvedev 2-6 7-6 6-7 4-6. 

This follows news that Kokkinakis had a falling out with Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt back in 2017. 

AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULT

Round One: Knocked out by Taro Daniel 7-5 2-4 (R)