London: The postmortem will be particularly difficult for Alex de Minaur this time as he contemplates another Wimbledon coming and going.
There were points and games that Flavio Cobolli ripped away from de Minaur, such as when the Australian tried to serve out the second set. But on others, de Minaur had only himself to blame: he was too risk-averse, too unwilling to approach the net – and even, at times, uncharacteristically loose.
De Minaur said as much afterwards, admitting he was playing with “the weight of the world” on his shoulders.
This might have been his best opportunity to advance beyond the quarter-finals at a grand slam, but instead, his tournament is over in the fourth round, losing 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to this year’s Roland-Garros runner-up.
“I think one of us went out to win the match, and the other went out not to lose the match. It’s pretty self-explanatory who was who,” a devastated de Minaur said, appearing to fight back tears.
“It breaks me inside. That’s the reality of it. Many, many hours get put into my craft, and countless years to have moments like these. To not step up to the plate is truly gut-wrenching.”
The 2024 Wimbledon quarter-finalist’s much-scrutinised serve will also go under the microscope again after an ineffectual performance where he landed only half his first serves and won fewer than 70 per cent of them.
Ninth-seeded Cobolli, who did not take a set off de Minaur in their previous two meetings, is into the last eight at the All England club for the second straight year – and richly deserves it for how boldly he played in the biggest moments. But it could have been so different.
De Minaur was on top for much of the first set but could not capitalise, including a misfire on a basic volley that would have brought up multiple break points in the fourth game.
He then dug himself a 0-40 hole with three unforced errors at five-all, only to climb back to deuce – but Cobolli made him pay on his fourth break point of the game.
It was that kind of day for de Minaur. The world No.6 also led the second set 5-2, and was twice up a break in the third. Each time, Cobolli, not de Minaur, rose to the occasion.
De Minaur, a seven-time major quarter-finalist, spoke pre-event about wanting to break new ground to prove to himself that he was improving.
He may still make his top-five debut after Ben Shelton’s shock first-round exit, but de Minaur said that after this loss, he felt closer to accomplishing his dreams two years ago than he did now.
“Sadly, it just feels like [these types of defeats] keep on coming. It’s not easy to take,” de Minaur said.
“You go through moments in your career where you feel that there are opportunities to be taken, to take the next step, to make it to the next level, to become an even better version of yourself. To fall short constantly, you start doubting yourself, and whether you’re going to be able to break through and take the next step.
“It’s probably a combination of me being tough on myself, but [also] being realistic. As much as I’m in a great position, the fact that I want more, and I’m not able to achieve more, it’s a battle that I deal with every day.”
De Minaur looked in trouble when he dropped serve after another lengthy game early in the second set.
Facing a fourth break point, the two top-10 stars engaged in a 25-shot rally, but several times de Minaur resisted the temptation to approach the net before sending a backhand beyond the baseline.
He instantly turned to his box and had a brief but fiery verbal exchange with his coach, Adolfo Gutierrez. Whatever was said or decided, de Minaur re-emerged as a different player.
The fifth seed rushed the net on the first point of Cobolli’s next service game and drew an error. Soon after, a more-aggressive de Minaur forced Cobolli to swipe at an on-the-run forehand that sailed wide. Then, he dug out a tough, low volley to snatch the break back.
De Minaur ground out a tough hold for 3-2 before play stopped for a second time with Cobolli at 15-all, as a heat-distressed elderly fan required medical attention.
The rivals, who are friends off the court, chatted in the shade away from the London heat as all this went on.
But de Minaur pounced on resumption, forcing his way to the net and winning the point with a crisp volley. Two points later, he was 4-2 up. It seemed like a turning point, but Cobolli kept finding ways to reel the Australian in.
There are few more explosive shot-makers than Cobolli, who clobbered a backhand pass winner then another on his forehand to reduce de Minaur to 0-30 as he attempted to level the match at a set apiece.
De Minaur could not hold Cobolli off, and a tiebreaker was required to split them. Trailing 1-2, de Minaur missed another first serve, but yanked the Italian out of court with an inside-in forehand.
Rather than ramming home his advantage, de Minaur barely cleared the service box with a limp follow-up forehand before netting a backhand. The unforced error was one of 40 he committed, but the conservative decision on the shot before was more telling.
Post-match, de Minaur ruled out a coaching change from his childhood mentor Gutierrez, saying it was him who had to deal better in pressure-filled situations.
“I think the tennis is there to win these types of matches … if I can just play tennis and not worry about anything else,” he said.
“I wasn’t able to do that, and that’s why I’m in this position right now. I either improve, or we’ll see the same results happen again and again.”
De Minaur at least has a pleasant distraction to take his mind off his defeat. He is marrying his long-time partner, British player Katie Boulter, in the days after Wimbledon ends.
Elsewhere, the women’s quarter-final field was set, with Marta Kostyuk, Jasmine Paolini, Linda Noskova and Elise Mertens all winning their fourth-round matches.
Kostyuk ended American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger’s run in a 6-4, 6-4 result; Paolini outlasted Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Alexandra Eala, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Noskova ousted Madison Keys, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2); and Mertens beat Marie Bouzkova, 6-4, 6-4.
Australian pairing Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans are into the mixed doubles semi-finals after a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 victory over Guido Andreozzi and Aldila Sutjiadi.
Marc McGowan travelled to London with Tennis Australia’s support.
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