Alex de Minaur cut a frustrated figure at Australian Open 2026 after losing to a world No.1 in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.
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But as you would expect from Australia’s highest-ranked performer, the dogged 26-year-old vows to keep plugging away while continuing to make tweaks that paid dividends despite his defeat by Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Twelve months after Jannik Sinner got the better of the Sydney native, Alcaraz defeated De Minaur 7-5 6-2 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.
Alcaraz afterwards said his level this fortnight has not yet matched his winning run at last year’s US Open, but that it is not far away.
De Minaur experienced that first-hand, having to contend with Alcaraz’s Federer-esque game on a night when temperatures dropped from the upper 30s to the high 20s in Melbourne.
“Obviously proud to have made another quarterfinal here, back-to-back,” De Minaur told reporters.
“It wasn't easy. Obviously, would have loved to have given more out there. Yeah, a little bit disappointed overall with the performance.”
He rued not taking advantage of openings on Alcaraz’s serve, particularly in the first two sets.
De Minaur has openly discussed trying to add more punch to his already outstanding counter-punching game.
He sits comfortably inside the top 10 in the rankings (No.6) but wants to go even deeper at majors – he is now 0-6 in Slam quarterfinals – and win one.
That additional power was seen in his previous two matches against Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Bublik, yet it is not a style he is most comfortable with – at least for the time being.
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“There was some good parts out there, but overall, I'm playing out of my comfort zone and at times out of my skin,” said De Minaur, who is also now 0-6 against Alcaraz.
“Of course, for me to take that next step, I've got to be comfortable in playing that sort of way for the whole match, and that's what it takes to take it to the next level, especially against these types of guys.”
His flat hitting on both wings often electrifies, but can lead to a rising error count.
In the slower conditions on Tuesday, he coupled 16 winners with 29 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz found the better balance.
“Especially in those night conditions, he's so strong, right? He's able to generate so much force, and his unforced errors just almost disappear,” De Minaur said.
“In the past when the conditions have been a little bit quicker and skittier, I've been able to have some reward with some of my flat groundstrokes, especially into the backhand wing. But today there wasn't really a whole lot of reward.”
De Minaur spoke of perhaps trying to add more spin to his strokes, mimicking Alcaraz and Sinner.
“There's a whole lot of risk for me to play at a very high ball speed,” said De Minaur.
“Your Janniks or Carlos, they have so many revolutions on the ball that they're able to not only play at a higher speed but also have their consistency, because they're able to get that spin that helps the ball come down and create different angles as well.
“Yeah, there's stuff that I need to look at and see and try to work out, but it is what it is.”
While his own tournament is now over, De Minaur will be keeping an eye on Alcaraz for the remainder of AO 2026.
If Alcaraz wins two more matches, starting with Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, the 22-year-old would become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
“If you leave one ball short, then the point's over,” said De Minaur.
“So he's definitely playing at a very high level. I'll be very intrigued to see how the rest of the tournament plays out.
“Ultimately, he’s No.1 in the world for a reason.”