Alex de Minaur has crashed out in the first round of Queen’s, leaving Australia’s big Wimbledon hope in danger of heading into the grass court grand slam severely undercooked.
The Australian No 1 took a break after suffering a first-week exit on the clay of Roland Garros, admitting the unrelenting schedule of the tennis calendar had left him mentally spent and physically drained.
He skipped the Rosmalen grasscourt warm-up in the Netherlands, which he won last year, to live the life of a “normal human being … going for coffees, to dinners, visiting parks and nature, playing golf … instead of obsessing about tennis 24/7”.
However, the time out does not seem to have helped – not yet at least. De Minaur lacked sharpness in his first round match at the London ATP 500 event and Jiri Lehecka, a rising Czech with a big serve, took full advantage.
The world No 30’s average serve, at 211kph, was the same as de Minaur’s fastest and he never looked in danger of dropping it as he won 6-4 6-2.
But there was a much better outing for Alexei Popyrin, who has the tools and form to spring a surprise at the London grand slam, and enjoyed a very useful workout in beating compatriot Aleksandar Vukic in three tight sets.
De Minaur made uncharacteristic errors on his forehand and his first serve percentage was below 60%.
Lehecka had not played on grass for nearly two years, having missed the entirety of the 2024 grasscourt season with a back injury, but looked far more comfortable than de Minaur – a Queen’s finalist in 2023 and Wimbledon quarter-finalist last year – who won three of the last 15 points.
“I understand [the need], the schedule is brutal, but it’s not the best time to take a break, between two slams,” said British former Australian Open finalist John Lloyd on the BBC. “You can see he’s flat. He needs matches, but he won’t get them if he plays like that.”
De Minaur had not planned to play in either of the final warmups next week – Eastbourne on England’s south coast and Mallorca in Spain -– but may now rethink.
Asked how he was feeling, he said: “Good question. I’m not too sure. Obviously [that] wasn’t the kind of result I was hoping for coming here to Queen’s.
“So back to the drawing board, and we’re going to have to make some decisions.”
De Minaur had told AAP at the weekend, “there might be a little bit of a difference or a conversation to be had if Queen’s doesn’t go well.”
But he added: “I’ve got to start having a more of a mentality of a big player and start backing myself to not have to play so many tournaments, back myself to do well in those big tournaments.”
There was also a shock main court appearance for Adam Walton, who was suddenly called up to face world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz as a lucky loser. That was because Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – who had come to England after getting married in Marbella, Spain, at the weekend – had withdrawn with illness.
Walton, ranked 86, lost 6-4 7-6 (7-4) but acquitted himself well in his main draw Queen’s debut under a blazing sun on Andy Murray Arena.
