De Minaur eases past Korda for ‘s-Hertogenbosch crown

Alex de Minaur added a second title to his stellar 2024 season on Sunday, when the top-seeded Australian dispatched Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-4 to triumph at the Libema Open.

De Minaur produced some trademark elite defence and counterpunching to nullify Korda’s power on the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass. With his ninth ATP Tour title, the 25-year-old on Monday will rise two spots to a career-high No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“It achieves a new career-high for me, so that’s always a great little bonus,” said De Minaur in his on-court interview. “My first week on grass couldn’t have gone any better, so I’m looking forward to next week at Queen’s and the whole grass-court season with a smile on my face. I’m glad I was able to get a win here in Holland.”

𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄 💼 ✅@alexdeminaur is taking home the 🏆 after a 6-2 6-4 victory over Korda.@LibemaOpen | #LibemaOpen pic.twitter.com/w9egm2K4jl

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 16, 2024

Competing as the top seed at an ATP Tour event for the first time this week, De Minaur did not drop a set en route to the title at the Dutch grass-court ATP 250. Against Korda, he reeled off six straight games from 2-2 to seize control of the match. De Minaur ultimately prevailed after breaking his opponent’s serve three times in the second set.

“Obviously it was a great match. Tricky conditions, and Seb is a hell of a player,” said De Minaur. “I’m looking forward to playing doubles with him next week at Queen’s. I’m super happy with the week. It’s been great. Happy days.”

De Minaur converted five of 14 break points he earned in the final, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and the Australian now holds a 33-11 record for the year. Having also defended his title at the ATP 500 in Acapulco in February, this year marks the third time he has won multiple tour-level crowns in one season.