Alex de Minaur out in the first round at Queens, Jordan Thompson retired from his match

News.com.au

5 hours ago

Alex de Minaur will have to do all his Wimbledon prep on the practice courts after being bundled out in the first round at Queen's Club conceding he 'wasn't up for the level' having taken a rare break leading in.
Alexei Popyrin, Australia's No.2 behind de Minaur, won an all-Australian contest against Aleksandar Vukic in three sets, Adam Walton lost a surprise centre court clash with world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz and Jordan Thompson was forced to retire from his match, rounding out the Aussie contingent.
But the loss of de Minaur was most concerning with Wimbledon looming.
The Australian No.1 was playing his first match on grass this year, and his first on any surface since being bundled out of the first week of the French Open.
He had then moved to take a rare break before launching his grand court campaign, citing mental and physical burnout.
There was no immediate return on his investment to take time off however, losings 6-4 6-2 to world No.30 Jiri Lehecka and conceded there were 'not too many positives I can take out of today'.
'Just not a good day at the office - I wasn't up for the level,' de Minaur said.
'If you want to be effective against him, you've got to be ready from the very first point till the last and you need to bring a high level. Today I did not do that.
Popyrin, now ranked 21 in the world, needed three sets to beat Vukic 6-2 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (7-3) and will now play Jack Draper, the British No.1 and No.2 seed.
Australia's women's No.1, Daria Kasatkina, also suffered a blow on her way to Wimbledon after the world No..16 suffered a first round defeat to Wang Xinyu in the Berlin Open.
It came after Kasatkin, the former Russian who now plays under the Australian flag, also lost in the first round at at Queen's Club last week.