In the ashes of his crushing quarter-final defeat, Alex de Minaur could be forgiven for feeling that history is not on his side.

After a tenth successive loss to a red-hot world No.1 Jannik Sinner, a match in which he won just six games in three one-sided sets, a look at the record of grand slam winners suggests time is running out for Australia’s top-ranked player. But there is also hope from unlikely quarters.