Dejected and deflated, where can Alex de Minaur turn after another sobering defeat to Carlos Alcaraz?
The sixth seed walked onto court to face the World No. 1 in the Australian Open quarter-finals having dropped just one set all fortnight. De Minaur had looked assured in straight-sets victories against Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Bublik, and from some corners of the tennis world there was quiet belief that the Australian might finally be able to trouble Alcaraz and improve on his 0-5 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Spaniard.
For a brief spell, that belief felt justified. De Minaur matched Alcaraz’s intensity early and stayed competitive through a high-quality first set, energising the crowd inside Rod Laver Arena. But once the top seed moved ahead, the contest quickly tilted in familiar fashion. Alcaraz surged clear to seal a 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 victory in two hours and 15 minutes, once again exposing the gap De Minaur is still striving to close against the very best.
The result left the Australian No. 1 with more questions than answers, not about effort or intent, but about execution at the highest level.
“In terms of mentality or the way I committed to hitting the ball today, it’s what I set out to do. I just can’t really execute it. I didn’t really execute it for the whole match,” De Minaur said on his performance. “There was some good parts out there, but overall, I’m playing out of my comfort zone and at times out of my skin.
“Of course, for me to take that next step, I’ve got to be comfortable in playing that sort of way for the whole match, and that’s what it takes, to take it to the next level, especially against these types of guys.”
De Minaur has now exited at the quarter-final stage of a major on seven occasions, losing six times and withdrawing once through injury. While the 26-year-old believes he is moving closer to his peak level, sustaining it across an entire match against the very best remains the challenge.
“You just keep practising, keep working at it, keep getting to the stage of committing and playing at that level more frequently,” De Minaur said on how he makes the next breakthrough. “Then some tweaks here and there that’s going to allow me to increase ball speed, because at the moment the way my natural groundstrokes are, they’re quite flat, and it’s quite difficult for me.
“There is a whole lot of risk for me to play at a very high ball speed, and I feel like Jannik or Carlos, they have so many revolutions on the ball that they’re able to not only play at a higher speed but also have their consistency, because they’re able to get that spin that helps the ball come down and create different angles as well.”
De Minaur has made significant progress in recent years. The 10-time tour-level titlist is competing at a career-high No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings and has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in each of the past two seasons. Yet he has been unable to make a notable impression against Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, losing all 19 matches contested between the two, a source of mounting frustration.
“You try to do the right things, you try to keep on improving, but when the results don’t come or the scoreline doesn’t reflect those improvements, then of course you feel quite deflated,” De Minaur said.
Alcaraz, who is aiming to complete the Career Grand Slam this fortnight, has yet to drop a set in Melbourne and has reached the semi-finals for the first time. De Minaur further acknowledged the challenge posed by the six-time major champion.
“I’m probably hitting the ball bigger than I’ve hit previously in these types of matches, but I’m still not able to kind of hit through him,” De Minaur said. “Then he’s obviously got the ability to generate on command. If you leave one ball short, then the point’s over. So he’s definitely playing at a very high level. I’ll be very intrigued to see how the rest of the tournament plays out.
“I do think he’s playing at a very high level. Ultimately, No. 1 in the world for a reason.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Source link
