A crestfallen Alex de Minaur concedes he’s in doubt for all-important Davis Cup duty after crashing out of the US Open in New York.
As much as he tried, de Minaur was unable to disguise his despair after injury once again cruelly curtailed his grand slam dreams in a 6-3 7-5 6-2 quarter-final loss to inspired Englishman Jack Draper on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
His movement clearly compromised, Australia’s big last hope floundered in a sea of forehand errors as a maiden major semi-final beckoned on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A flare up to the hip injury that had sidelined the world No.10 since Wimbledon ultimately robbed de Minaur of any realistic chance of victory.
“I wish I felt better. Let’s just put it that way. It’s tough. It’s a big opportunity. It’s a big chance,” de Minaur said.
“So I’m going to stick with the positives that I’m proud of myself.
“Jack is never easy to play in the best of times, and the way he can spread the court, being a leftie and really move you around the court, it takes a toll on the body. Accumulation of matches takes a toll as well.
“But he played well. He deserves the win. In the few chances that I had, I wasn’t able to execute.”
De Minaur had beaten the 25th-ranked Draper in all three previous encounters but, just when he thought he was returning to 100 per cent fitness, the Sydneysider suffered a dispiriting setback on tennis’s biggest stage.
“I was not expecting today, if I’m honest. Everything was trending in the right direction,” de Minaur said.
“But, yeah, it’s fine. I dealt with it after Wimbledon. I’ll deal with it after here, and I’ll be back in no time, and hopefully sliding from side to side with not a thought in my head.”
Next week’s Davis Cup qualifying stages in Spain, though, may be too soon for the Australian spearhead.
“I really don’t know. That’s the honest answer,” de Minaur said when asked if he’d be fit for the 16-nation September 10-15 Cup qualifiers in Valencia.
“I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how, with a couple days, how it pulls up.”
For all his dejection, de Minaur said he never considered either quitting or not starting the match.
“It’s not part of me, part of my DNA,” he said.
“I don’t like it, if I’m honest. I’m always going to give my best.
“And, look, it could have been naive of me, but I genuinely thought that there was a chance even in that last game going in.
“I thought that there was a chance that I was going to change the match around and go out there and win it.
“So at every stage in that match, I gave myself a shot, with my attitude, with my mindset, to go out there.
“I had some chances as well, that who knows if I would have taken them, then maybe I would still be on court right now.
“So retiring, that’s not part of me. Over my career, you’ll very rarely witness that.”
Draper admitted he’d received a leg-up from de Minaur’s problems.
“He was struggling a little bit today with something and that helped me a little bit,” Draper said
Regardless, Draper delivered a masterclass.
While de Minaur’s unforced forehand error count hit 18, the classy Brit dictated from the get-go with powerful groundstrokes, big serving and a succession of sumptuous forehand drop shots.
Draper’s reward for becoming the first British man to reach the US Open last four since former world No.1 Andy Murray won the title in 2012 is a first grand slam semi-final appearance on Friday.
Yet to drop a set all tournament, Draper will now meet top-ranked reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner who beat fifth-seeded 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4.
