Alex de Minaur has vowed to take a break from tennis after his latest Wimbledon exit left him feeling his dreams are slipping away, but the Australian insists he is not ready to retire despite a defeat that 'hurts like hell'. The 27-year-old lost 5-7, 6-7, 3-6 to Flavio Cobolli on Court 1, with his fiancée Katie Boulter watching on while wearing an England football shirt after the Three Lions' World Cup win over Mexico earlier that day.
De Minaur's emotional reaction
De Minaur, who has 11 career ATP Tour titles but has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, admitted the loss was particularly hard to take. 'I won't play a tournament for a while,' he said. 'But again, they just accumulate, right? The goals, the beliefs, the dreams that you have, they kind of start fading away or they feel a little bit further away than when they once were.'
He continued: 'I'm finding it harder. That's the reality of it. At the end of the day, I've got no other option, right? I'm not going to say "I've had enough, I'm hanging up the racquets". It's fresh now. It hurts like hell now. But I'll get back up. I'm a competitor, through and through. So I'll get back up, and I'll give myself another chance.'
Career Grand Slam struggles
The Sydney native's best Wimbledon run came in 2024, when he reached the quarter-finals but withdrew before facing Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury. He has also reached the last eight of the Australian Open in each of the last two years, the French Open in 2024, and the US Open on three separate occasions, but has never progressed further. This year, he was outplayed by an inspired Cobolli, who said: 'From my side, I think I played one of the best match ever, especially on this surface that is always tough to play. But today I found a way to have a high level for, I don't know how much I played, but for all the match. It was really impressive also for me, for my team.'
Focus on personal life
De Minaur is due to defend his Washington Open title at the end of July, but his schedule remains uncertain. Instead, he plans to channel his energy into his upcoming wedding to Boulter later this summer. 'I've got some pretty big things happening soon, so some stuff that I'm very excited for,' he added. 'I think my best way forward is to channel my focus into that, into something positive.'
