Alex de Minaur out in first round at Queen’s, Jordan Thompson retires from his match

Wimbledon is just around the corner but the start of the grass court season hasn’t gone to plan for Alex de Minaur.

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 de Minaur’s loss 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.

Alex de Minaur was beaten by Jiri Lehecka. Picture: Dan Istitene/Getty Images

He had taken a rare break before launching his grass court campaign, citing mental and physical burnout.

There was no immediate return on his investment to take time off, however, losing 6-4 6-2 to world No.30 Jiri Lehecka, and de Minaur 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.

Kasatkin, the former Russian who now plays under the Australian flag, also lost in the first round at Queen’s Club last week.

Originally published as Alex de Minaur out in first round at Queen’s, Jordan Thompson retires from his match