Alex de Minaur 🇦🇺 vs. Bu Yunchaokete 🇨🇳

🎾 ATP Washington 2025 – Round of 32 Preview

Alex de Minaur 🇦🇺 vs. Bu Yunchaokete 🇨🇳

📍 Washington, D.C. | 🗓️ July 24 | 🎾 Hard (Outdoor)

🧠 Form & Context

Alex de Minaur
🔥 Momentum builder: After a demanding clay and grass swing, the World No. 13 enters a favorable part of the season with minimal points to defend—setting up a prime opportunity to rejoin the top 10.
📉 Washington woes: Despite reaching the final on debut in 2018, he’s crashed out in R1 in all three appearances since.
📈 Familiar foe: Already beat Bu earlier this year in Miami with a composed 6-4, 6-4 performance.

Bu Yunchaokete
🚀 Emerging contender: Started his Washington debut with a convincing straight-sets win over Goffin.
📊 Learning curve: Reached a career-high of No. 64 in late 2024, but is 0–6 vs top-20 players in 2025.
🧱 Gaining ground: Played in Los Cabos last week and looks well-adapted to the North American hard-court swing.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This matchup highlights a stylistic contrast. De Minaur is a master of speed, defense, and constructing points with precision. Bu, in contrast, is more aggressive—seeking to dictate with pace and end rallies early. Their prior meeting in Miami showed how effectively de Minaur can absorb Bu’s power and force errors through depth and variety.

If Bu starts hot and controls the center of the court, he could test de Minaur in the early games. But over time, the Aussie’s elite conditioning, court coverage, and tactical smarts should create separation. The slowish surface in D.C. also helps de Minaur's grinding style.

Given de Minaur’s poor Washington history, expect a slightly nervy start—but if he finds rhythm, he should wear Bu down methodically.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: De Minaur in 2 sets — Bu’s tools are improving, but de Minaur’s movement and mental edge make him the clear favorite to break his R1 curse in Washington.