Alex de Minaur was extremely dejected after losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon against Flavio Cobolli.
De Minaur admitted that he needed a break from tennis after losing to Cobolli 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3.
This is a second consecutive Grand Slam tournament where he has underperformed by his ranking, but De Minaur is not willing to make coaching changes.
When reacting to De Minaur’s comments after his Wimbledon exit, former world number one Andy Roddick pinpointed the mistakes he made against Cobolli.
Andy Roddick says Alex de Minaur ‘did miss an opportunity’ at Wimbledon
Roddick pinpointed De Minaur’s second serve as an issue against Cobolli on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast, suggesting that it was too predictable.
Despite declaring his respect for the Australian, Roddick admitted that this was a missed opportunity for De Minaur to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
“He missed a couple of second serve returns, when he was break point [down],” said Roddick. “He made the same mistakes over and over on his second serve. I would have bet my house on where it was going with his second. I know we have talked about it.
“Let me just level set any opinions I have by saying it is hard for me to respect Demon more than I do. He always shows up. He has made a hell of a career.
“But it was the same second serve over and over and over. It was 94mph into the middle of the box. Cobolli ended up figuring out that he could pretty much just run around it, without much threat of anything else happening.
“Those hours that are put in, no-one can question that. I know I have heard him talk about finding three miles per hour more in a first serve. I would find three more options on the second serve if I’m him.
“Not a single time did he go to the forehand on the deuce side. Not because it has to be the best option but because Cobolli has to react to the threat of the option.
“I agree with him. You could sense his disappointment. This is probably his best surface, and I respect someone who takes it this hard and wants it this much. Who is honest and self aware, those are all attributes that I really respect.
“And I think he’s right. He is the higher seed, he has had the opportunity to play someone not ranked inside the top 100, who is a wildcard in the quarters to make his first semi if he wins that.
“There is no [Carlos] Alcaraz, [Jannik] Sinner or [Novak] Djokovic in his half of the draw. Opportunity was knocking. I am sure that has a disproportionate amount of value in his statements but I think he did miss an opportunity.
“Sometimes we have to call it like we see it. You can simultaneously think the world of someone and also say that I think their analysis of themselves is probably accurate.
“He will get back on the horse, that’s his nature, I think he’s just an uber professional and I hope that the long hours are also smart hours. Is he ever going to serve 140mph? No. Can you mix up pace and speed and placement on the second serve? Yes, you can. Can you mix up return position if you are not making any headway? Yes. Those are things that are fixable.”
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All four players missed out on a golden opportunity to win the French Open…
Where is Alex de Minaur in the race to the ATP Finals?
Roddick provided De Minaur with some encouragement after his disappointing Wimbledon exit, and that is not the only thing that he should take some positives from.
Despite missing opportunities at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, De Minaur is currently forecast to reach his career-high ranking of world number five in the live rankings, subject to other results.
De Minaur also won his 11th ATP title this year and is currently on track to qualify for the ATP Finals for a third consecutive year.
In the current live race to the ATP Finals, De Minaur is in seventh position, inside the eight qualification places.
De Minaur will now take some weeks off before returning to competition for the US Open hard court swing.
