Aussie ace pinpoints where it went wrong against legend

Perth Now

5 days ago

Alex de Minaur has admitted he has to find a way to raise his game at the big moments like champions do.
De Minaur's mood, as he reflected on his 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon was so flat he might as well have been roadkill.
Which he was in a way, having been steamrollered by the seven-time grasscourt champ in the closing stages of a previously competitive fourth round tie.
De Minaur had a break point to go 5-1 up and be one service game away from taking 38-year-old Djokovic into a fifth set.
Then the Serb put his foot down and crushed the Aussie No.1's resistance, winning 14 of the last 15 points.
"He lifted his level big-time," said de Minaur. "I had a chance to break him and get the double break. He started going after it a little bit more and raised his level, which completely changed the momentum.
"I'm frustrated I let that set slip away. But he's been pretty good in big moments for a very long time.
"In the bigger moments today I think my level dipped, and I didn't rise to the occasion as I needed to if I wanted to beat someone as good as him.
"There's positives (from the match) but where I am in my career I want more. I want to be on the other side of this match coming out on top because that's the next step in my career.
"If I'm going to make the next step, these are the types of matches that need to start going my way.
"The right thing to do, to tell myself, 'Hey, I was close, I probably should have been into a fifth set, and who knows what happens in that fifth set against Novak at Wimbledon and one of his best grand slams'. I should be telling myself that.
"But right now... I won't see that side of things. It's still too early. It's a little bit more about, 'yes, I lost to Novak, but I lost in the fourth round when I was hoping for more this week'."
Pressed, de Minaur did list the positives, but nevertheless ended on a negative.
"From the back of the court I went toe-to-toe with one of the greats. I was definitely taking it to him and probably felt like I had the upper hand if we had indeed got into a rally.
"I was moving the ball well. I was hurting him from the baseline and gave myself plenty of opportunities and chances. The returning, I'm always going to give myself chances. I'm always going to put a lot of the pressure on my opponent, and I did that today.
"What I need to improve on is the serve. When (Djokovic) needed it, he really raised his serving. It felt like he was breezing through games.
"The serve needs to get me out of trouble, needs to help me in big moments, needs to step up if I want to win these matches."
Identifying the problem is one thing, fixing it is another matter entirely. That's de Minaur's next challenge, but he won't shirk it.