Alex de Minaur has proposed a rule change which Alexander Zverev may not be too keen on.
De Minaur recently beat Zverev at the Laver Cup in a huge win for the Australian against the two-time Grand Slam champion and soon to become world number one.
Despite this, it has still been a hugely successful season for the German, with Zverev winning the US Open and Roland Garros this year.
It was in his run to the US Open title, where Zverev received some criticism for his service motion, when he was bouncing the ball for an extended period, and De Minaur has called for a rule change which could prevent this.
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Alex de Minaur calls for rule change between first and second serves
De Minaur suffered an injury scare in the China Open final, where he was forced to retire to award Novak Djokovic with the title.
The world number nine appears to be feeling better now, with De Minaur winning his first match at the Shanghai Masters to reach the fourth round after receiving a bye and a walkover.
After De Minaur beat Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto 7-6(6), 6-4, he spoke to press in the mixed zone, where he was proposed a potential rule change. De Minaur was asked if he thinks as well as the shot clock before a first serve, that there should also be a shot clock between first and second serves, to which he appeared to be a fan of this suggestion and proposed an addition to this.
“Between first and second? Yeah, that’s fine,” responded De Minaur. “I think, ultimately, you would get away from people trying to take a little bit more time in between first serve and second.
“I’ve said this for a long time now, I think one of the things I would say personally is I would have only one ball toss. So, once you throw the ball, you got to serve, no matter what. If you decide not to, it’s a fault.
“So kind of, that’s another way that people sometimes get away with, you know, once they’re about to serve, and they have a bad ball toss, they get to restart their routine again. So I would say that’s another personal opinion that I think would be a good addition.”
This rule change could impact a number of players, but perhaps most notably Zverev, who received some backlash for the time he took before his serves at the US Open this year.
Who is Alex de Minaur playing next at the Shanghai Masters?
While De Minaur believes that there should be a rule change regarding serving, his main focus right now is on getting as far as possible at the Shanghai Masters.
Despite only playing one match, De Minaur is now into the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters and is one win away from matching his previous best result at the tournament of reaching the quarter-finals.
De Minaur’s next opponent in Shanghai is the in-form Karen Khachanov, in what appears to be a tricky next match for the Australian. This will be a fifth meeting between De Minaur and Khachanov, with the head-to-head currently level at 2-2. Their most recent encounter took place at the Paris Masters last year, when De Minaur beat Khachanov 6-2, 6-2.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2020 | US Open (R32) | De Minaur beat Khachanov, 6-4 0-6 4-6 6-3 6-1 |
| 2022 | Dubai Tennis Championships (R32) | Khachanov beat De Minaur, 6-3 6(1)-7 7-5 |
| 2024 | Vienna Open (SF) | Khachanov beat De Minaur, 6-2 6-4 |
| 2025 | Paris Masters (R16) | De Minaur beat Khachanov, 6-2 6-2 |
Not only is this an important match for De Minaur with it being a chance for him to reach another Masters 1000 quarter-final, but it will also have a big impact on the race to the ATP Finals.
De Minaur is currently 10th in the live race to the ATP Finals, which is one spot away from those eight qualification places, with world number one Jannik Sinner missing the rest of the season due to a knee injury. De Minaur can put himself in eighth if he beats Khachanov by overtaking Djokovic, who is already out of the Shanghai Masters after losing to Hubert Hurkacz.
