Minaur’s Wimbledon waiting game

ALEX de Minaur’s Wimbledon main-draw dreams hang in the balance despite the star teenager rising to a careerhigh ranking with Nottingham Challenger victory.

De Minaur will climb to No.78 when the rankings are issued today, well inside Wimbledon’s direct entry cut-off.

But All England Club entries, as with all other tourna- ments, close six weeks before the tournament starts and he will now rely on either a wildcard or injuries to other players to get in without qualifying.

Such has been the 19-yearold’s progress over the past month, his late surge has not gone unnoticed by Wimbledon officials — and he might yet be granted a wildcard after supporting the third-tier British grasscourt circuit.

On current standings, de Minaur is two places out from direct inclusion — one behind James Duckworth. Given the usual injury attrition rate, the pair is likely to gain promotion.

De Minaur is the first teen since Nick Kyrgios in 2014 to snare a grasscourt Challenger title after toppling Dan Evans in the Nature Valley Open.

De Minaur’s 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 success follows his elevation into the top 100 last week after reaching the Surbiton final. BROOKS Koepka said the biggest reward for his back-to-back US Open victories was silencing the critics who said he was incapable of winning on a “real” course like Shinnecock Hills.

A year after dominating at Erin Hills — the longest US Open course but with generously wide fairways — Koepka admitted he felt “overlooked” before his win at notoriously difficult Shinnecock Hills.

“This one was a lot sweeter,” said Koepka, when asked to compare the one-shot triumph at one-over par to last year’s four-shot win at a recordequalling 16-under.

“Everyone said Erin Hills was set up for me. It was set up for a lot of guys that bomb the ball.”

Big-hitting Koepka showed his ability to adapt when last man standing in a major that featured a diabolical course set-up on Saturday before the USGA over-compensated with easier final day conditions.

His closing two-under-par 68 was enough to hold out a mighty charge from Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, whose 63 equalled the championship’s lowest round.

Florida native Koepka became the first man to successfully defend a US Open title since Curtis Strange in 1989 and he is projected to climb five spots to world No.4. AAP