Alex de Minaur will probably be our last singles hope, again, at this year’s Australian Open. He is as reliable as your grandma’s Toyota Corolla.

It’s the same story as at eight of the past nine majors, during which world No.6 de Minaur reached the quarter-finals five times and the round of 16 in three others.

Alex de Minaur is our best and most reliable tennis player.Credit: AP

De Minaur and qualifier Maddison Inglis are the only locals to advance to the third round at Melbourne Park this year. At the time of writing, James Duckworth must upset two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner to join them.

Our media’s optimistic tennis reporting over the years has become the butt of international jokes.

The Tennis Podcast has a segment during this Australian Open in which the three hosts poke fun at our penchant for labelling overachieving local underdogs as “sensations”, while retired American John Isner described........

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