Alex de Minaur claims rankings ‘don’t really bother me’ as fatigue factors into Queen’s loss

Tennis is a sport where are you are rarely allowed to celebrate your victories, no matter how big or small.

Few will know that more than Alex de Minaur , who has gone from claiming the ninth ATP title of his career to suffering a Queen’s loss to Lorenzo Musetti – in the space of 48 hours.

Musetti was always going to be a test for the Australian in West London, but one he was expected to pass.

De Minaur has been a beacon of consistency throughout his career but has elevated his game to new heights since reaching the final here twelve months ago.

At a new career-high of seventh this week – making him the highest-ranked Australian man since Lleyton Hewitt – de Minaur was a genuine contender to win this tournament.

Coming in from victory in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Sunday, he continued a rich vein of form in a dominant opening set.

But the mental and physical turnaround between playing a final on Sunday and then competing at a different tournament – in a different country – 48 hours later cannot be underestimated.

As the Italian clung to a break lead in the second set, ultimately forcing a decider, there was a sense that de Minaur was not hitting with such conviction.

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That proved to be the case in the deciding set almost one-sided as the first, Musetti taking the initiative and breaking in his opponent’s opening two service games to claim a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.

He said: “Honestly, I think it was a very quick turnaround from ‘s-Hertogenbosch. I did my best to adapt and I thought I came out pretty well.

“In the second set, I had so many chances. It’s one of the few matches where I would probably walk off the court and think I got unlucky.

“It easily could have been a 6-1, 6-3 kind of match. I had a couple of break points here and there throughout the second set. I’ve played a lot of tennis recently and it got the better of me in the end.

“I love this place and I would’ve loved to play well. I genuinely think if I just got over the hurdle of the first-round match, I think I could have had a pretty good week.

“But sometimes this happens – and it is what it is.”

Ahead of the biggest Wimbledon campaign of his career, a few days off may not be a disaster for the Australian, regarding his physical and mental state.

However, unable to match his run from twelve months ago, his chances of being a top-eight seed at the All England Club are now up in the air.

Defeat has seen him drop down to ninth in the ATP Live Rankings, back below Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz.

That will mean he could miss out on a top-eight seeding at Wimbledon, potentially drawing a player ranked above him as early as the fourth round.

The caveat to that is the situation surrounding Novak Djokovic, the current world No 3 who is perhaps unlikely to play at Wimbledon this year due to his meniscus.

De Minaur, though, admits that rankings are not too much of a concern for him – and is eyeing up another surge later this summer.

After losing to Matteo Berrettini in the second round of Wimbledon in 2023, there may be a chance to recapture points there.

He added: “I’ve won plenty of titles and there’s plenty of times I’ve lost first round the next week. It’s tennis and I’m going to have more chances to have career highs.

“This is frustrating because I felt maybe I was the better player in the first two sets, and I would have loved that to go my way.

“The rankings, it doesn’t really bother me because it fluctuates every week – literally every week. All of us in that position from seven to 12, we’re all points away. Any given week it changes, I’m used to it.

“It goes up, it goes down. I guess in a way I limited it by winning last week. It’s very similar and ultimately every week, it feels like I’ve gone up or I’ve gone down. It’s all down to who has a better week on a given day.

“I’ll lose a couple of spots – but then I defend nothing at Wimbledon.”

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