Australian Open: People’s court turns sombre as de Minaur exits

The people’s court was packed to the rafters but the mood became sombre when Alex de Minaur was beaten by Tomas Berdych.

Australian Alex De Minaur in action against Tomas Berdych. Picture: Mark Stewart

The people’s court at the Australian Open was packed to the rafters but the mood became sombre when Alex De Minaur was being pushed around by a snarling Tomas Berdych.

The boy fought like a man against a more experienced and powerful opponent but he was hit off the court 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1 in a confronting reality check on Hisense Arena. It was game on at a set apiece. De Minaur had to control his palpable nerves and keep holding his serves. He was caught in two minds there. When he took pace off his first delivery to spin it in, it risked being too slow and hittable.

When he thumped a flat first serve, he risked missing it and exposing his second. Service potency and accuracy was the most immediate difference between the rookie and the veteran. And then Berdych started crunching his groundstrokes with frightening efficiency.

Emotion would not be enough for De Minaur. He needed execution.

On a day that attracted 55,767 fans to Melbourne Park, a tournament record for a weekday, De Minaur hung tough to level proceedings at a set all.

He was jumping out of his skin right then. The patrons were jumping out of their seats. Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt looked ready to leap onto the court. Berdych made only seven unforced errors in the first set. He made 20 in the second. An Australian fan snarled and shouted, “Pressure!”

Berdych struck a short forehand straight at De Minaur’s body. He huffed and puffed and blew the court down in the third and fourth sets. Berdych was playing untouchable tennis, hitting flat backhands that kissed the lines, punching forehand winners. He was taking the crowd and De Minaur out of the match.

The 18-year-old was coming off a two-week run through Brisbane and Sydney that amounted to a mini-major for workload. There was a mild stomach muscle injury. His first serve went missing. His second serve was getting clobbered. The man won.

The boy still did all right. He’s had a great run through the January schedule but there’s no such thing as an endless summer.