Alex de Minaur has suffered another tough Grand Slam defeat after losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
De Minaur was given a big opportunity to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final after Ben Shelton lost in the first round of Wimbledon this year.
The Australian had made light work en route to the fourth round, with De Minaur dropping just one set in his first three matches at Wimbledon this year.
However, De Minaur’s Wimbledon run was cut short after he was beaten by Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 and he has now confirmed if his long-term coach Adolfo Gutierrez’s position is at risk.
Alex de Minaur claims his coach is not the reason for his Wimbledon exit
This is the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament where De Minaur has failed to take advantage of an opening in the draw, having also lost in the third round of Roland Garros.
De Minaur has had Gutierrez, who has coached him since the age of nine, by his side all this time, as well as other members of his team including Matt Reid and Peter Luczak.
Despite back-to-back Grand Slam disappointments for De Minaur, he has confirmed that he does not plan to part with any of his coaches and instead placed the blame on himself.
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“No, I really don’t think that’s the issue, really,” De Minaur said in his post-match press conference. “I think it all comes down to myself and how I’ve dealt with certain situations, right?
“Because, look, it’s now down to tennis. We have practiced many times, and I’ve felt great in this kind of matchup. We practiced before the tournament started, right, and the issue is playing this match and playing like I’ve got the weight of the world on my shoulders. That’s the issue, right? It gets brought up on myself.
“I need to deal with it better, because if not, I’m just not going to be able to achieve, you know, the goals and dreams I’ve got, right? It’s as simple as that.
“I think the tennis is there to win these types of matches. The tennis is there, this tournament, the way it all looked to go deep, if I can just play tennis and not worry about anything else, right?
“I wasn’t able to do that, and that’s why I’m in this position right now. And yeah, I either improve or we’ll see the same results happen again and again.”
Alex de Minaur says if he likes to be left alone after a tough defeat
Different players deal with different Grand Slam defeats in different ways, and De Minaur was asked if he liked to be left alone after such a loss.
De Minaur admitted that this probably would not be a good idea and instead wanted to focus on some positive things coming in the future, including hinting at his planned wedding to British WTA player Katie Boulter.
“Yeah, let’s just say the best thing probably for me is not to be kind of left alone, because I would probably, you know, spend a lot of time by myself and kind of, you know, dwelling on what just happened,” explained De Minaur.
“So what I’ll try to do is go about my normal life. I’ve got some pretty big things happening soon, so some stuff that I’m very excited for. And I think my best way forward is to channel my focus into that, into something positive, and that should help, you know, put this in the past and get on with what’s next.”
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De Minaur will next compete during the North American hard court swing, with potential tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open.
Despite his disappointments at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, De Minaur is currently seventh in the live race to the ATP Finals, meaning that he is on track to qualify for the exclusive year-end event.
