Alex de Minaur Set to Take a Long Break After Devastating Wimbledon Exit

Alex de Minaur lost his Wimbledon Round of 16 match 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 to Flavio Cobolli, who is through to his second consecutive quarter-final at the tournament. De Minaur struggled to capitalize on his chances throughout this match. In the second set, he squandered a 5-2 lead by losing five consecutive games. He then went up a break twice in the third set, only to lose four games in a row.

He had a good start to the season, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. He then won a title in the next tournament he played in Rotterdam. He reached his next final of the season in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he finished as runner-up. Still chasing a maiden Grand Slam semifinal, the Australian gave a remarkably candid account of his fading confidence after his Wimbledon loss:

It breaks me inside. That’s the reality of it. Many, many hours get put into my craft, and countless years to kind of have moments like these. To not step up, it’s truly gut-wrenching. It’s very tough. It just feels like they keep on coming. It’s not easy to take. You go through moments in your career, times where you feel that there’s opportunities to be taken to make it to the next level and to become an even better version of yourself. You start doubting whether you’re going to be able to break through and kind of take it to the next step.

De Minaur also reflected on how he seemed closer to his goals a few years back. In 2024, he had reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slams. The 27-year-old further added:

I’m in a great position, but the fact that I want more and I’m not able to achieve more, it’s a battle that I deal with every day. I won’t be playing a tournament for a while. But then again, they keep piling up. The goals, the belief, the dreams you have start fading away or feeling a little bit further out of reach than they once were. I feel like a couple of years ago, I was definitely closer. Now it just feels like I’m getting a little bit further away from those dreams.

Cobolli, on the other hand, will face British wildcard Arthur Fery in the quarter-final. This will mark their second meeting on court, with Fery having defeated Cobolli in the first round at the Australian Open this year.

Mark Petchey shares two suggestions for Alex de Minaur

Mark Petchey, who has worked with British Grand Slam champions Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, had two suggestions for Alex de Minaur. Speaking to Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily, Petchey said:

The first thing I’d probably go to is the racquet. Maybe I can get a bit more power. There are definitely more powerful frames out there. Sometimes that can even be a placebo effect. Maybe it isn’t going to generate 75 miles (120km) an hour (groundstrokes), but it might make you feel as though you are, and that could be a big upside for Alex.

Petchey also believes de Minaur should contemplate the painful decision to part ways with Adolfo Gutierrez, who has been his mentor and coach since he was nine:

I also feel maybe it is time to maybe freshen up things around him. Maybe he just needs a little bit of a different voice. They’ve done such a wonderful job. Adolfo’s done such a wonderful job with him. But just maybe at this stage of his career he just needs somebody with a bit more passion, slightly different vibe. It’s very intense because Alex wants to win one of these. I get that, and I get how everyone’s reacting, but maybe it would have been easier for him if he’d had somebody to sort of bounce off that’s getting out of their chair, really fist pumping.

Despite reaching a career-high ranking of No. 6, de Minaur’s collection of 11 ATP titles does not include a Masters 1000 title. His sole appearance in a Masters 1000 final came at the 2023 Canadian Open, where he fell to Jannik Sinner. Another worrying statistic is his record against the ATP Tour’s two dominant forces—de Minaur is 0-19 in combined meetings with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Spotted with Bandage on His Shoulder During Wimbledon Quarterfinals