World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz has provided a brutal insight into Alex de Minaur’s struggles against the top players in men’s tennis after downing him in straight-sets in their Australian Open quarter-final. De Minaur was frustrated after the 7-5 6-2 6-1 loss and lashed out at a reporter’s question about what he could have done differently against the Spaniard.
The Aussie trailed early but broke back to get it to 5-5 in the opening stanza. But an overturned time violation when serving at 5-6 down seemed to affect de Minaur’s momentum, and Alcaraz pounced to wrap up the first set. From there, it was one-way traffic as the World No.1’s powerful groundstrokes suffocated de Minaur and the Aussie’s hopes of making a maiden grand slam semi-final evaporated.
Alex de Minaur snapped at a reporter’s question after his loss to World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Pic: Getty
The World No.6 tried to play aggressively to give himself the best chance of victory, but it often led to unforced errors. And after serving superbly throughout the rest of the tournament, de Minaur’s service game deserted him on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old cut a frustrated figure in his post-match press conference, and one question clearly irked him. “It seemed like you had a really good preparation… some great wins at the United Cup and some exhibition matches,” one reported started off saying. “Were you satisfied with your preparation coming in to prepare for these types of matches? Is there something that you would do differently in the future to prepare for these really big matches?”
Alex de Minaur irked by reporter’s question after loss
De Minaur fired back: “I don’t know. What could I do differently? You tell me.” The reporter pointed out that they were merely trying to get de Minaur’s thoughts on the loss, with the Aussie conceding that Alcaraz’s game was simply too good.
“I mean, I don’t think today was lack of preparation. As I said, I’ve been playing at an incredibly high level,” he added. “It’s just you come up against someone like Carlos in the night time, and yeah, it’s tough to find the right answers when you are playing against him.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s truth bomb for Alex de Minaur after match
Alcaraz is yet to drop a set and is now just two wins away from becoming the youngest man in history to claim a career grand slam. The win over de Minaur means he now holds a 6-0 career record over the Aussie, who is 0-19 in matches against Alcaraz and World No.2 Jannik Sinner.
And the Spaniard offered a brutal explanation as to why the Aussie struggles against them. “To be honest, I just feel what he’s trying to do against me or when he’s facing against a top player, we all know his level, his style,” Alcaraz told reporters.
Carlos Alcaraz (R) extended his winning record over Alex de Minaur (L) to 6-0 after beating him in straight sets in their Australian Open quarter-final. Pic: Getty
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“He’s really fast, he doesn’t miss that often. You know, it’s just sometimes really difficult, because his speed and when he gets the ball, it’s really soon, and he doesn’t let you have time in the match.
“When he’s trying to play or when he’s playing against the best or the top player, he’s trying to be more aggressive, which sometimes he’s just out of his… comfort zone. Sometimes we’re seeing him miss quite often in some… quite easy balls, let’s say. I notice that, and we know how to approach the match, because let’s say we are, like, one step forward in that case.”
with agencies