Savage Alex de Minaur image says it all after gut-wrenching Aus Open exit

A brutal TV graphic gives an insight to the harsh reality facing Alex de Minaur after his gut-wrenching exit from the Australian Open.

Alex de Minaur probably doesn't need to hear this advice.

Some things just don’t need to be said.

Aussie tennis fans are waking up without a local player in the second week of the Australian Open after Alex de Minaur’s gut-wrenching five-set loss to Andrey Rublev on Sunday night.

The Aussie raised local hopes of a deep run at Melbourne Park after coming into the tournament with four straight wins over the likes of Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Rublev and Carlos Alcaraz — four players who are still alive in the tournament.

But de Minaur met his match in the big hitting Russian, falling 6-4 6-7 6-7 6-3 6-0 in a wild four-hour and 14-minute thriller on Rod Laver Arena.

The 24-year-old Aussie played some of the best tennis of his career in the second and third sets, which he both won in tiebreaks.

De Minaur produced arguably the shot of the tournament in the second set tie-break when he chased down a ball that bounced at right angles over the net, whipping it around the net post in an outrageous piece of athleticism.

Andrey Rublev was too good for Alex de Minaur in the end. Picture: Mark Stewart

He sealed the third set with a backhand down the line that just dropped in, and at that stage he was ahead on the scoreboard with all the momentum.

De Minaur’s inability to break was ultimately the difference in the match, earning 16 break point opportunities, but only converting three.

Rublev, on the other hand, converted eight from 13 for the match.

The Russian raced out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set as the atmosphere was sucked out of Rod Laver Arena. Rublev took the last two sets 6-3 6-0 in an underwhelming finish to the match.

It was a a case of what might have been for de Minaur.

During Channel 9’s pre-match coverage, a graphic highlighted three areas that contribute to “Demon’s recipe for success”.

The first two points were about being more accurate on his first serve and hitting more forehands.

Fair enough. Demon admitted post-match his serve deserted him and he didn’t make as many first serves as he needed to. His forehand was solid throughout the match.

But it was third point that simply stated “win more” that raised eyebrows.

Sports comedian Josh Garlepp shared the graphic on Twitter, writing: “I agree if de Minaur could “win more” he would be more successful.”

I agree if de Minaur could “win more” he would be more successful. #aopic.twitter.com/N9VY368OpH

— Josh Garlepp (@JoshGarlepp) January 21, 2024

The brutal two words give an insight into the psyche of the Australian fan, who views a fourth round exit as a solid but middling result.

De Minaur is in the top 10, how high can he go?. Picture: Mark Stewart

The last Aussie man to win the Australian Open singles title was Mark Edmondson back in 1976.

It’s a great answer to a trivia question, but fans are crying out for a local hope to break that drought, just like Ash Barty did in 2022.

Pat Cash and Lleyton Hewitt came mighty close but it seems we might have to wait a few more years to see an Aussie lift the Norman Brooks Cup.

It was the third year in a year row de Minaur has reached the fourth round at the Australian Open.

His best grand slam result is a quarterfinal at the 2020 US Open, and there’s a sense this could be his ceiling at the four majors.

Does Demon have what it takes to win a grand slam? (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

Longtime tennis writer Courtney Walsh posted: “It would be the harshest of judge to suggest the Aussie is not taking steps ahead, but he exits unsatisfied.”

Jay Clark wrote in the Herald Sun that de Minaur has a “huge heart … but is it enough to go all the way in a slam?”

CODE Sports’ Lachlan McKirdy said: “Some gutsy efforts from Alex de Minaur, but doubt that’ll be a match he looks back on fondly.

“There’s a good chance he was never going to beat Rublev with how well he was playing. But it’s hard to win at a slam with 3/13 break points and 53% first serve.”

In his post match press conference, de Minaur said he was bitterly disappointed and wanted to go further in his home slam.

“Perspective changes with results, right? All of a sudden expectation and what you believe you should be achieving also changes,” he said.

“Maybe in the past I would have been somewhat content with a fourth round, but I thought I had more in me.”

The next step for de Minaur will be to keep the faith and aim to improve his record against top 10 players, a club he is now belongs to.