Alex de Minaur is one of many top players to have been knocked out of Roland Garros over the past few days.
However, his loss will sting more than most, mainly because of the opportunity he has missed.
After all, with Carlos Alcaraz having withdrawn from the event before it even began, and Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both suffering shock early defeats, it felt like an opportunity was brewing.
Especially now, where we will be guaranteed a brand-new Grand Slam champion on the men’s side.
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Alex de Minaur, who has been so consistent over the years, would have been expected to contend for that glorious vacancy, yet lost in four sets to what should have been a physically compromised Jakub Mensik.
He has tried to rationalise the loss afterwards, but remains unable to truly process such a tough defeat.
Alex de Minaur rues huge missed opportunity at Roland Garros
Speaking at his press conference, the 27-year-old cut an emotional figure as he sought to explain his loss.
Left scratching his head after inexplicably losing the match despite winning the first set 6-0, De Minaur claimed: “Normally I’m at the tail end of tournaments, I’m playing these top players, and it kind of feels like the door has been shut in front of me. Once in a blue moon you get an opportunity like this, and you have to be able to take it, and I did exactly the opposite today.”
Andy Roddick, speaking on his podcast, expressed similar surprise when reviewing Mensik’s win.
He admitted: “I thought Mensik… I mean, he got, like, airlifted out of the court the other day. Like, only slight exaggeration. But he struggled at the end of his match, wheelchair out.
“You do not want to see the Demon when your tank is on empty, and it did not look good. Dropped the first, I was a 6-0? And then credit to him, turned it around. Another young guy doing work.
“Two, two, and three or something like that afterwards. Demon, a tough out.”
This kind of loss was hardly a huge surprise though, given the fact that De Minaur had endured a long losing streak in the run-up to Roland Garros.
Alex de Minaur’s struggles at the Grand Slams
It’s well-documented that De Minaur has hit a wall when it comes to the majors.
After all, despite having reached seven quarter-finals, the Australian has never managed to win any of them, meaning he has never competed in a Grand Slam semi-final.
Despite having consistently been one of the better players in world tennis for years now, for whatever reason, he cannot get over the line.
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At times, he has simply come up against better players than him.
Other opportunities, though, have seen him massively underperform when he was expected to win.
With Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz all out of Roland Garros, De Minaur had a huge opportunity here. And, sadly, he knows it.
