1 month ago
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There is little point in trying to convince anyone that Alex de Minaur’s latest grand slam quarter-final defeat at the Australian Open was different to the rest.
Even the ultra-competitive de Minaur was largely disinterested – at least in the hour or so after the match – in the positives of his 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 loss to an imperious Carlos Alcaraz, who could become the youngest man to win a career grand slam by Sunday night.
Alex de Minaur’s next challenge is getting comfortable where he is uncomfortable.Credit: AP
He played bigger and more fearlessly than ever before, and broke world No.1 Alcaraz’s serve twice in the opening set thanks to those things.
Yet, the result was the same, and that is all de Minaur cares about. He spent this summer, and particularly this Open, telling everyone that he was not satisfied being just another “number” in the draw.
It is patently obvious that the world No.6, who will remain at that ranking unless American Ben Shelton reaches the final, is one of the best few players on the planet. However, he hungers for grand slam glory – and that seems out of reach at the moment.
De Minaur winning only one set in his seven major quarter-finals, which includes his Wimbledon walkover two years ago, tells us that, but the reasons are many and varied.
Read the full analysis here.
