An early Grand Slam exit is not a desirable result for a Top 5 seed, but Alex De Minaur seems to be taking his fourth-round loss at Wimbledon pretty hard. The Australian player had a gloomy take on his mindset after the match, even suggesting a brief break from the sport.

“I’m broken inside. That’s the reality”, said De Minaur in his post-match press conference. “You invest so many hours into this job and so many years to have moments like these. Not being able to live up to it is truly heartbreaking. It’s very hard.”

“The goals, the belief, the dreams you have start fading away or feeling a little bit further out of reach than they once were. I feel like a couple of years ago, I was definitely closer. Now I just feel like I’m drifting a little further away from those dreams. It’s getting harder and harder. That’s the reality,” he added.

De Minaur lost in straight sets to Cobolli at SW19, a performance that was not something one would associate with the Australian, who is known for his court coverage and for making every rally a physical battle. The Australian has been a steady presence in the Top 10 on the ATP rankings in the last couple of seasons, while making six Grand Slam quarterfinals during that period. However, that seems to be the ceiling for the Australian player, as he has struggled to get past the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev, all of whom have lopsided head-to-head records against the Australian.

This is not the first time De Minaur has spoken about feeling emotionally uncomfortable while navigating the ATP calendar. Last year, he clearly stated that he was suffering from burnout during the clay-court season. On that occasion, the Australian spoke about the hectic schedule and how playing in events every week was detrimental to his emotional well-being. One hopes the Australian will soon be in good spirits as he is set to marry Katie Boulter, potentially later this month.

What is even more notable is that De Minaur had a good start to the season, with his decline coming during the clay-court season, which seems to have taken its toll after the Wimbledon exit.

Alex De Minaur Had a Good Start to the Season

Playing as the home favorite at the Australian Open always adds pressure for De Minaur, but the Australian had a decent showing this year. He lost to Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, but the Australian’s level of play was impressive, and even after the loss, he accepted the higher potential of his Spanish opponent rather than adopting a completely pessimistic view.

The Australian Open run was followed by De Minaur’s ATP500 title in Rotterdam, after multiple runner-up finishes in previous editions. However, since that win, the Australian’s form really dipped. He had a poor showing across the Sunshine Double, and his only notable clay-court result was a semifinal run in Hamburg. In the French Open, despite getting a walkover in the previous round, De Minaur lost to Jakub Mensik in the third round.

De Minaur did get some form back on grass, as he reached the final of the Libema Open and had a quarterfinal run at the HSBC Championships at Queens. However, the loss to Cobolli at SW19 will be disappointing for De Minaur as he had the opportunity to win the second set, which would have changed the direction of the match. However, it seems more players are closing the gap on the Australian in terms of baseline power, which is not good news for the World No. 6.