Alex de Minaur delivers sad message after 'devastating' Australian Open exit

Aussie Alex de Minaur has admitted he is still hurting after his brutal five-set loss to Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open. De Minaur was left shattered after going down to the Russian in a thriller after Rublev played one of the best fifth-sets in recent memory.

World No.10 de Minaur was viewing this year's Australian Open as a chance to make it past the fourth round for the first time in his career. And de Minaur was visibly inconsolable after the match, with girlfriend Katie Boulter spotted embracing him in the locker room afterwards.

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His recent wins in the build-up to the tournament saw him defeat Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. Unfortunately, de Minaur's exit means there are no Australians left on the women's or men's side of the draw.

And taking to social media on Monday, de Minaur thanked his fans but admitted he was hurting after letting the opportunity slip against an in-form Rublev. "That one hurts. Thanks Australia for the unconditional love," de Minaur said.

John Millman was quick to encourage de Minaur after the tough exit. "You're a legend mate. Only bigger things to come," he wrote. Only moments after his loss, de Minaur admitted he wasn't happy with just reaching the fourth round in 2024 and was 'devastated' with the result.

"Maybe a couple years ago or even last year, I would be sitting here, maybe even happy with the result, saying, I probably shouldn't have won, he's higher ranked than I am, I took him to five sets, pretty decent effort," de Minaur said in his press conference.

"But it's completely changed because now I'm sitting here and I'm absolutely devastated because I saw it as a great opportunity and a match I strongly believed I could have won. But it just slipped away."

"It's not a match that I thought I lost physically. It was just that the racquet was taken out of my hand. He was just standing and hitting from every single part of the court at just mach 10. That's probably the most disappointing part of the whole match.

"I do think I've made a lot of steps in the right direction. I think my level is quite there. Against top-10 opponents this year, I'm 3-1. It's not the worst of things. I was very close today. I'm doing the right things."

Andrey Rublev to face Jannik Sinner at Aus Open

Andrey Rublev will now move on to face Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final. Speaking on Eurosport afterwards, American legend John McEnroe reckoned de Minaur had simply been beaten by a man playing "one of the greatest fifth sets I've ever seen in a grand slam".

He said: "It was one of the all-time great efforts by Rublev, who's taken it up to the next level. De Minaur wanted it so bad - it's a damn shame he lost but, unfortunately, someone has got to."

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