Alex de Minaur has lamented his inability to win the second set against Alexander Zverev from up 4-0 in the tiebreaker, after bowing out of the French Open in the quarter-finals. Zverev proved too strong for the Aussie star at Roland Garros on Wednesday night, advancing to the semis with a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory.
But the result could have been very different had de Minaur gone on to win the second set while up 4-0 in the breaker. The Aussie only managed to win one more point as Zverev completely turned the tables to take a two-set lead.
In the end it was only two breaks of serve that cruelled de Minaur, who fell just short of becoming the first Australian man to make the semis at Roland Garros since Pat Rafter in 1997. The 25-year-old took plenty of positives out of his run to the quarters but was down in the dumps about what could have been.
“I put up a hell of a fight … against a quality opponent,” he said. “(I) had my chances, probably should have taken the second set, and we would have been in for a proper battle. Winning that changes the whole match, but it didn’t happen. It slipped away.
“I left my heart out there. I did everything I could. It just wasn’t good enough. Sure, I had some good highlights (but) highlights don’t win you matches. I would rather be boring and win the match.”
