Alex de Minaur complains about heavy balls after French Open defeat

There’s plenty of things that can lead to losing a tennis match and Aussie Alex de Minaur suggested this played a part in his French Open demise.

Alex de Minaur claimed the “heavy balls” at the French Open contributed to his demise as his exit, and that of Max Purcell, left just Thanasi Kokkinakis to fly the Australian flag in Paris.

At the Australian Open in January there were complaints from players about the balls being used with similar claims that they were too heavy and made play too slow.

After his 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 loss to the big-hitting Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, de Minaur lamented that he “did all he could”, but the heavy balls made life difficult for the 74kg Australian.

“There‘s no denying he’s a great clay-court player. He’s a strong player,” de Minaur said.

“I think it’s just tough, especially on the surface, but I think also these balls, they’re very heavy and get big very quickly.

“Naturally, they are heavy balls, even when they’re new, and it takes literally one game for the balls to get pretty big.

Alex de Minaur says he wasn’t helped by the heavy balls being used at the French Open. Picture: Clive Mason/Getty Images

“And then you have got to play another six games, or eight games, with those balls and they get massive, almost like they don’t have a lot of pressure.

“So I think ultimately, you’re going to be seeing a lot of the big hitters, the stronger guys, getting good results and benefiting from these types of balls because they almost can hit the ball harder and harder and not be worried about missing.”

The lack of a clear power game is one thing counting against de Minaur making regular progression deep into grand slams, but it’s not for lack of trying.

“Game after game, I was out there trying new things,” he said.

“I was trying to press and overpress but I just wasn‘t getting anything out of the court and the ball, and that led to me trying to go for even more and have a lot of errors.”

Max Purcell is also out. Picture: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Purcell has been battling an ankle issue, which required a chunky brace, and blistered hands that needed constant protecting in two medical time-outs in his three-set loss to the world’s 33rd best player, Yoshihito Nishioka.

“Dealing with that at a lesser event, rather than at a slam, might have been easier,” he shrugged.

“But in saying that, the hands took the attention away from the ankle today, which was a good thing!”

The double blow leaves Australian hopes of enjoying second-week interest all down to Kokkinakis, who will face No.11 seed Karen Khachanov in Friday’s third round.