Dogged De Minaur leads local charge at Australian Open

MELBOURNE : While injured Nick Kyrgios will be a vocal presence on the sidelines of the Australian Open, it will be the home nation's quiet achiever Alex de Minaur carrying the main weight of fans' expectations on court.

De Minaur has spent much of his career toiling in Kyrgios's shadow, making incremental gains each year while his flashier compatriot hogged the headlines.

Now, with Kyrgios restricted to TV duties and an ambassadorial role while his body recovers, De Minaur heads to Melbourne Park as Australia's number one after putting together his most encouraging season.

The man nicknamed 'Demon' captured his first ATP 500 title at the Mexico Open in Acapulco last March, reached a career-high world ranking of 11 and finished the year by guiding Australia into a second successive Davis Cup final.

The feats have been all the more remarkable given the 24-year-old's limited arsenal.

In a men's game dominated by muscular brutes and fierce forehands, the lightly-built De Minaur is an outlier, lacking in killer weapons.

Not unlike mentor Lleyton Hewitt, Australia's former world number one and Davis Cup captain, De Minaur has to work hard for his wins, relying on leg speed, fitness and heart instead of raw power and a thumping serve.

Those qualities have served him well in a still-developing career but his limitations tend to be exposed against the game's very best, as shown by his fourth round demolition by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in last year's Australian Open.

De Minaur got a measure of revenge when he started the new year by handing world number one Djokovic his first defeat in Australia for six years at the United Cup in Perth.

Sydneysider Jordan Thompson also claimed a notable victory in the new year when he beat Rafa