Alex de Minaur says he is ‘burnt out' after French Open capitulation
Down and out in Paris, crestfallen Alex de Minaur has complained of feeling burnt out and mentally weary following a 'miracle' French Open capitulation, sighing it's time for him to change.
The never-say-die 'Demon' has never seemed so downcast as he tried to make sense of how he lost his second-round contest 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to comeback wizard Alexander Bublik from a position on Thursday where '99.9 per cent of the time' he would have won.
'There's no excuse for myself, what happened today. I need to look at myself in the mirror and find out the reason, because ultimately this isn't going to change. I have to adapt and make sure it doesn't happen again,' lamented the world No.9.
The first time he's been knocked out this early in his last seven grand slams meant Alexei Popyrin is the only Aussie left in the men's draw after Brisbane's Adam Walton bowed out to No.17 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) later on Thursday.
With a doughty late-night 6-4 6-2 win over French wildcard Leolia Jeanjean, 17th seed Daria Kasatkina, in her first grand slam representing Australia, also set up a third-round blockbuster date with Spanish No.10 seed Paula Badosa.
De Minaur's defeat came in a wildly entertaining affair, the ultimate 'match of two halves'.
The famously eccentric Kazhak Bublik admitted the 11am start had been too early for a sleepyhead like him and was already thinking about getting an early flight home to Monaco until deciding to throw caution to the wind after being outplayed for two sets.
But though Bublik stirred to provide some out-of-the-box brilliance, de Minaur could only feel this was one that criminally got away - and he couldn't understand how.
'No illness, no injury. Look, I'm just tired. I'm tired mentally. I'm a little bit burnt out, if anything,' sighed de Minaur.
Suggesting he'd lost the match rather than Bublik winning, he added: 'I lost that one. Looking back at my grand slam career, I can't think of another match where I felt this way and ended up losing a match that I win 99.9 per cent of the time.
'In a way, the good thing is that today is something like a miracle, in the sense that I'm not known for these types of performances. I'm probably known for the opposite, which is just being consistent and not losing really matches that I shouldn't be losing.'
It was a crushing blow for the 26-year-old Sydneysider, who'd been enjoying his best clay-court season and was ready to build on his breakthrough quarter-final appearance last year.
'Obviously have to have a hard chat with the team and analyse everything that's been happening, kind of find a reason of why this happened.'
He also complained about there being 'too much tennis' and the ATP needing a shorter schedule, echoing fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson's complaints earlier in the week. Mainly though, he just sounded like a man in need of a break after 38 matches already this year.
Ironically, his misery all unfolded just as the sun came out for the first time these championships — conditions 'Demon' loves — and for two sets he positively shone.
Looking to have cracked the puzzle that is Bublik, making light of his crazy drop shots, suicidal monster second serves and one dismally executed underarm delivery, he waltzed two sets up in an hour.
There was the odd dazzling shot — one which sent de Minaur sliding into the courtside furniture — but it felt like Einstein's definition of insanity as he played drop shot after drop shot only to get the same result as the fastest man in tennis hunted them down.
Then, a switch was flicked at two-sets down. Out went the drop shots, in came the power.
'I was checking the tickets already in my head. I didn't really care, in a way,' shrugged Bublik.
De Minaur's composure evaporated as Bublik got the crowd behind him with musketeer shotmaking, like the point that won him the fourth, featuring a tweener followed by a brilliant backhand bullet down the line. No wonder the Kazakh took a deep bow.
Bublik raced through the final set, taking his ace count to a dozen and, for his piece de resistance, finished the job, after de Minaur had saved three match points in the final game, with one rapier-like cross-court backhand winner, his 51st of a marvellously entertaining encounter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
Djokovic to French Open semi finals
Tennis: Djokovic and Gauff have cemented their spots in the French open semifinals, following two tight victories.
The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Vintage Novak makes hay on clay to set up Sinner semi
Three-time champion Novak Djokovic kept up his quest for a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, battling past third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to set up a French Open semi-final against top seed Jannik Sinner. The 38-year-old Serbian notched his 101st victory at Roland Garros, site of his Olympic gold medal victory last year at the Paris Games, after three hours and 17 minutes. Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Earlier on Wednesday Sinner booked his spot in the last four with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Alexander Bublik. "Obviously there was a lot of tension, pressure, but it is normal when you play against Zverev, one of the best in the world," Djokovic said in a post-match interview. "My game is based on a lot of running. I am 38 years old, it is not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works.'' Zverev, last year's finalist who is still searching for a maiden grand slam title, started strongly and broke Djokovic in the first game. Attempting to join the Serb, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to reach French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, the German held on to that advantage to earn the first set. Knowing he could not match his 28-year-old opponent for fitness, Djokovic tried to keep the rallies as short as possible, playing more and more drop shots - 35 in total - to force the tall Zverev to the net. Djokovic broke his opponent at 2-1 in the second set and was quickly 4-1 up before Zverev had any time to react. He secured the second set with yet another drop shot. The veteran then broke Zverev twice more to bag the third set with his opponent running out of steam, lacking accuracy and having no clear plan B. Another break at the start of the fourth set put Djokovic 2-0 up and firmly on the winning track before he wrapped it up on his fifth match point to reach a record-extending 51st grand slam semi-final. Earlier, Sinner marched on in his relentless pursuit of a first French Open title with a typically efficient win over Kazakh showman Bublik. Bublik had put out two top-10 seeds en route to the last eight - Australia's Alex de Minaur and Britain's Jack Draper - but Sinner ensured no repeat with a 6-1 7-5 6-0 victory. The near-flawless victory, in just one hour and 49 minutes, ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to play in six grand slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches, after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. Sinner has not dropped a set, and has lost 36 games all told in his five matches to date. The Court Philippe Chatrier roof was open after a cold, rainy morning and Sinner raced away to a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and then threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out several trademark drop shots and worked the No.1 seed harder to stay level after 10 games. An untimely dip allowed Sinner to pounce and the three-time grand slam champion broke before holding comfortably to stop any chance of a comeback from the world No.62 and move two sets ahead. The one-way traffic resumed in the third set. Bublik hit a failed underarm serve while trying to avoid going a double break down, before Sinner sealed the win to book a semi-final against Djokovic. Three-time champion Novak Djokovic kept up his quest for a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, battling past third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to set up a French Open semi-final against top seed Jannik Sinner. The 38-year-old Serbian notched his 101st victory at Roland Garros, site of his Olympic gold medal victory last year at the Paris Games, after three hours and 17 minutes. Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Earlier on Wednesday Sinner booked his spot in the last four with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Alexander Bublik. "Obviously there was a lot of tension, pressure, but it is normal when you play against Zverev, one of the best in the world," Djokovic said in a post-match interview. "My game is based on a lot of running. I am 38 years old, it is not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works.'' Zverev, last year's finalist who is still searching for a maiden grand slam title, started strongly and broke Djokovic in the first game. Attempting to join the Serb, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to reach French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, the German held on to that advantage to earn the first set. Knowing he could not match his 28-year-old opponent for fitness, Djokovic tried to keep the rallies as short as possible, playing more and more drop shots - 35 in total - to force the tall Zverev to the net. Djokovic broke his opponent at 2-1 in the second set and was quickly 4-1 up before Zverev had any time to react. He secured the second set with yet another drop shot. The veteran then broke Zverev twice more to bag the third set with his opponent running out of steam, lacking accuracy and having no clear plan B. Another break at the start of the fourth set put Djokovic 2-0 up and firmly on the winning track before he wrapped it up on his fifth match point to reach a record-extending 51st grand slam semi-final. Earlier, Sinner marched on in his relentless pursuit of a first French Open title with a typically efficient win over Kazakh showman Bublik. Bublik had put out two top-10 seeds en route to the last eight - Australia's Alex de Minaur and Britain's Jack Draper - but Sinner ensured no repeat with a 6-1 7-5 6-0 victory. The near-flawless victory, in just one hour and 49 minutes, ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to play in six grand slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches, after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. Sinner has not dropped a set, and has lost 36 games all told in his five matches to date. The Court Philippe Chatrier roof was open after a cold, rainy morning and Sinner raced away to a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and then threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out several trademark drop shots and worked the No.1 seed harder to stay level after 10 games. An untimely dip allowed Sinner to pounce and the three-time grand slam champion broke before holding comfortably to stop any chance of a comeback from the world No.62 and move two sets ahead. The one-way traffic resumed in the third set. Bublik hit a failed underarm serve while trying to avoid going a double break down, before Sinner sealed the win to book a semi-final against Djokovic. Three-time champion Novak Djokovic kept up his quest for a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, battling past third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to set up a French Open semi-final against top seed Jannik Sinner. The 38-year-old Serbian notched his 101st victory at Roland Garros, site of his Olympic gold medal victory last year at the Paris Games, after three hours and 17 minutes. Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Earlier on Wednesday Sinner booked his spot in the last four with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Alexander Bublik. "Obviously there was a lot of tension, pressure, but it is normal when you play against Zverev, one of the best in the world," Djokovic said in a post-match interview. "My game is based on a lot of running. I am 38 years old, it is not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works.'' Zverev, last year's finalist who is still searching for a maiden grand slam title, started strongly and broke Djokovic in the first game. Attempting to join the Serb, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to reach French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, the German held on to that advantage to earn the first set. Knowing he could not match his 28-year-old opponent for fitness, Djokovic tried to keep the rallies as short as possible, playing more and more drop shots - 35 in total - to force the tall Zverev to the net. Djokovic broke his opponent at 2-1 in the second set and was quickly 4-1 up before Zverev had any time to react. He secured the second set with yet another drop shot. The veteran then broke Zverev twice more to bag the third set with his opponent running out of steam, lacking accuracy and having no clear plan B. Another break at the start of the fourth set put Djokovic 2-0 up and firmly on the winning track before he wrapped it up on his fifth match point to reach a record-extending 51st grand slam semi-final. Earlier, Sinner marched on in his relentless pursuit of a first French Open title with a typically efficient win over Kazakh showman Bublik. Bublik had put out two top-10 seeds en route to the last eight - Australia's Alex de Minaur and Britain's Jack Draper - but Sinner ensured no repeat with a 6-1 7-5 6-0 victory. The near-flawless victory, in just one hour and 49 minutes, ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to play in six grand slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches, after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. Sinner has not dropped a set, and has lost 36 games all told in his five matches to date. The Court Philippe Chatrier roof was open after a cold, rainy morning and Sinner raced away to a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and then threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out several trademark drop shots and worked the No.1 seed harder to stay level after 10 games. An untimely dip allowed Sinner to pounce and the three-time grand slam champion broke before holding comfortably to stop any chance of a comeback from the world No.62 and move two sets ahead. The one-way traffic resumed in the third set. Bublik hit a failed underarm serve while trying to avoid going a double break down, before Sinner sealed the win to book a semi-final against Djokovic. Three-time champion Novak Djokovic kept up his quest for a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, battling past third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to set up a French Open semi-final against top seed Jannik Sinner. The 38-year-old Serbian notched his 101st victory at Roland Garros, site of his Olympic gold medal victory last year at the Paris Games, after three hours and 17 minutes. Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Earlier on Wednesday Sinner booked his spot in the last four with a straight-sets win over Kazakh Alexander Bublik. "Obviously there was a lot of tension, pressure, but it is normal when you play against Zverev, one of the best in the world," Djokovic said in a post-match interview. "My game is based on a lot of running. I am 38 years old, it is not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works.'' Zverev, last year's finalist who is still searching for a maiden grand slam title, started strongly and broke Djokovic in the first game. Attempting to join the Serb, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to reach French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, the German held on to that advantage to earn the first set. Knowing he could not match his 28-year-old opponent for fitness, Djokovic tried to keep the rallies as short as possible, playing more and more drop shots - 35 in total - to force the tall Zverev to the net. Djokovic broke his opponent at 2-1 in the second set and was quickly 4-1 up before Zverev had any time to react. He secured the second set with yet another drop shot. The veteran then broke Zverev twice more to bag the third set with his opponent running out of steam, lacking accuracy and having no clear plan B. Another break at the start of the fourth set put Djokovic 2-0 up and firmly on the winning track before he wrapped it up on his fifth match point to reach a record-extending 51st grand slam semi-final. Earlier, Sinner marched on in his relentless pursuit of a first French Open title with a typically efficient win over Kazakh showman Bublik. Bublik had put out two top-10 seeds en route to the last eight - Australia's Alex de Minaur and Britain's Jack Draper - but Sinner ensured no repeat with a 6-1 7-5 6-0 victory. The near-flawless victory, in just one hour and 49 minutes, ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to play in six grand slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches, after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. Sinner has not dropped a set, and has lost 36 games all told in his five matches to date. The Court Philippe Chatrier roof was open after a cold, rainy morning and Sinner raced away to a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and then threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out several trademark drop shots and worked the No.1 seed harder to stay level after 10 games. An untimely dip allowed Sinner to pounce and the three-time grand slam champion broke before holding comfortably to stop any chance of a comeback from the world No.62 and move two sets ahead. The one-way traffic resumed in the third set. Bublik hit a failed underarm serve while trying to avoid going a double break down, before Sinner sealed the win to book a semi-final against Djokovic.
The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'Under-rated' Djokovic still up with the best: Zverev
Three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic is under-rated at the age of 38, despite continuing to deliver world-class performances. That was the message from Germany's Alexander Zverev after his quarter-final loss to the Serbian superstar on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, a finalist last year, was trying to become only the fourth man in the Open era to reach the French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Instead he bowed out of the tournament, having lost in four sets to Djokovic, who will play Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner for a spot in Sunday's final. "I think it was very, very high level from him," Zverev told a press conference. "It was at some point difficult for me. "I, at some point, felt like I didn't know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things that I was doing." Djokovic unusually played 35 drop shots in the match, forcing Zverev constantly to the net and mixing up his game to stop the German from pounding him from the baseline. "I think at the moment he's a bit under-rated, to be honest," Zverev said of the 38-year-old. "I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos (Alcaraz) at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. "Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. He is still beating the best of the best, so I think everybody needs to respect that." Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic is under-rated at the age of 38, despite continuing to deliver world-class performances. That was the message from Germany's Alexander Zverev after his quarter-final loss to the Serbian superstar on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, a finalist last year, was trying to become only the fourth man in the Open era to reach the French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Instead he bowed out of the tournament, having lost in four sets to Djokovic, who will play Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner for a spot in Sunday's final. "I think it was very, very high level from him," Zverev told a press conference. "It was at some point difficult for me. "I, at some point, felt like I didn't know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things that I was doing." Djokovic unusually played 35 drop shots in the match, forcing Zverev constantly to the net and mixing up his game to stop the German from pounding him from the baseline. "I think at the moment he's a bit under-rated, to be honest," Zverev said of the 38-year-old. "I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos (Alcaraz) at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. "Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. He is still beating the best of the best, so I think everybody needs to respect that." Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic is under-rated at the age of 38, despite continuing to deliver world-class performances. That was the message from Germany's Alexander Zverev after his quarter-final loss to the Serbian superstar on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, a finalist last year, was trying to become only the fourth man in the Open era to reach the French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Instead he bowed out of the tournament, having lost in four sets to Djokovic, who will play Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner for a spot in Sunday's final. "I think it was very, very high level from him," Zverev told a press conference. "It was at some point difficult for me. "I, at some point, felt like I didn't know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things that I was doing." Djokovic unusually played 35 drop shots in the match, forcing Zverev constantly to the net and mixing up his game to stop the German from pounding him from the baseline. "I think at the moment he's a bit under-rated, to be honest," Zverev said of the 38-year-old. "I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos (Alcaraz) at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. "Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. He is still beating the best of the best, so I think everybody needs to respect that." Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies. Three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic is under-rated at the age of 38, despite continuing to deliver world-class performances. That was the message from Germany's Alexander Zverev after his quarter-final loss to the Serbian superstar on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, a finalist last year, was trying to become only the fourth man in the Open era to reach the French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Instead he bowed out of the tournament, having lost in four sets to Djokovic, who will play Italian world No.1 Jannik Sinner for a spot in Sunday's final. "I think it was very, very high level from him," Zverev told a press conference. "It was at some point difficult for me. "I, at some point, felt like I didn't know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things that I was doing." Djokovic unusually played 35 drop shots in the match, forcing Zverev constantly to the net and mixing up his game to stop the German from pounding him from the baseline. "I think at the moment he's a bit under-rated, to be honest," Zverev said of the 38-year-old. "I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos (Alcaraz) at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. "Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. He is still beating the best of the best, so I think everybody needs to respect that." Former world No.1 Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 grand slam singles trophies.
