De Minaur in Brisbane over Tomic

WILDCARD Alex De Minaur intends to make the most of his chance to mix it with the “big dogs” in a Brisbane International field that has become wide open.

The 18-year-old from Sydney was handed a start in the season-opening tournament on Friday after world No. 1 Rafael Nadal’s late withdrawal due to knee soreness.

High-profile trio Andy Murray (hip), Nick Kyrgios (hip) and Milos Raonic (calf, wrist) are all on the comeback trail from injury in Brisbane.

Raonic had a hit at the Queensland Tennis Centre yesterday, while Murray trained in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and is expected to arrive in Brisbane tomorrow. Bernard Tomic, who is yet to offer an explanation for his qualifying tournament withdrawal this week, was unsurprisingly overlooked for a wildcard. Instead it was handed to De Minaur, who is in career-best touch after winning the Australian Open wildcard playoff earlier this month.

“I’m really thankful. I feel like I’m in pretty good shape and am looking to see where my level’s at against the big dogs,” De Minaur said.

In a point of difference to other emerging Australians, De Minaur developed his game on clay after moving to his mother’s Spanish homeland as a five-year-old.

He joined the Australian Davis Cup squad in Melbourne recently, but continues to train predominantly on the red dirt of Alicante with coach Adolfo Gutierrez.