Alex de Minaur described himself as "broken inside" following his straight-sets loss to Flavio Cobolli in the Wimbledon fourth round, admitting his mental game is preventing him from achieving his goals.
The 27-year-old Australian fell to Cobolli 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, marking another instance where he has performed strongly in a Grand Slam only to falter at a critical juncture. De Minaur acknowledged that he played not to lose, rather than to win, a mindset he believes is holding him back.
"It's a tough one. Overall, just not what I expected of myself," de Minaur said after the match. "I think one of us went out to win the match, and the other went out not to lose the match. It's pretty self-explanatory who was who."
He further elaborated on the emotional toll of these recurring disappointments. "It breaks me inside. That's the reality of it. Many, many hours get put into my craft, and countless years to have moments like these. To not step up to the plate, it's truly gut-wrenching," he stated.
De Minaur identified his mental fortitude as the key issue. "How do you explain it? Just not good enough mentally. That's how you explain it," he said. "The issue is playing this match like I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders. I need to deal with it better, because if not, I'm just not going to be able to achieve the goals and dreams I've got."
The world No. 6 expressed frustration with the repetitive nature of these results. "Sadly, it just feels like (these results) keep on coming. This is just another one to add to the tally," he added. "And the goals, the beliefs, the dreams that you have, they start fading away or they feel a little bit further away than when they once were."
He believes he possesses the necessary tennis skills but struggles to execute under pressure. "I think the tennis is there to win these types of matches, if I can just play tennis and not worry about anything else," de Minaur said. "I wasn't able to do that, and that's why I'm in this position right now. I either improve or we'll see the same results again and again."
Despite the emotional distress, de Minaur affirmed his competitive spirit. "I'm a competitor through and through. So I'll get back up, and I'll give myself another chance," he stated. "I just want it to happen to keep giving me that hope. If not, this is a tough, tough sport to play with no hope."
De Minaur plans to focus on his upcoming marriage to British player Katie Boulter as a positive distraction. "I've got some pretty big things happening soon, stuff that I'm very excited for. My best way forward is to channel my focus into that, into something positive, and that should help put this in the past and get on with what's next," he said.