Andy Roddick has reacted to the emotional press conference Alex de Minaur gave following his Wimbledon exit.
World number eight De Minaur was hoping to reach the semi-final of a Grand Slam for the first time and dropped just one set on his way to the last-16.
But the Australian was outplayed by French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli and wore his heart on his sleeve after the straight-sets defeat.
De Minaur, 27, admitted he felt ‘broken inside’ and said his dream of winning a major title were ‘fading away’.
Despite being one of the most consistent players on tour, De Minaur is yet to play in a semi-final of a Grand Slam – only reaching the quarter-final of all four majors.
‘I’m broken inside,’ an emotional De Minaur said. ‘That’s the reality.
‘You invest so many hours into this job and so many years to have moments like these. I won’t be playing a tournament for a while.
‘But then again, they keep piling up. 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 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.’
Former US Open champion Roddick regretfully ‘agreed’ with De Minaur’s assessment of his career and said the Australian ‘missed an opportunity’ at Wimbledon with the draw opening up.
Asked whether the result warranted such an emotional response from De Minaur, Roddick said on the Served podcast: ‘Yeah, it did.
‘He missed a couple of second serve returns when he was had break points. He made the same mistakes over and over on his second serve. I would have bet my house on where he was going with his second serve.
‘Let me just say it would be hard for me to respect Alex more than I do, this guy always shows up and has made one hell of a career. But it was the same second serve over and over and over.
‘No one can question the hours he’s putting in but I hope he’s working on the right stuff. You could see his disappointment and I agree with him.
‘This is probably his best surface. I respect someone who takes it this hard and who wants it this much. He’s honest and self-aware and those are attitrubes I really, really respect.
‘But I also think he’s right, I think he’s right. He was the higher seed and if he won that he would have faced a player who is not ranked inside the top-100 in the quarter-finals.
‘There’s no Alcaraz, Sinner or Djokovic in his side of the draw so opportunity was knocking and I’m sure that had an impact on his statements.
‘I think he missed an opportunity, I do, and sometimes you need to call it as you see. You can think the world of someone while thinking their analysis of the situation is pretty accurate.
‘He will get back on the horse, that’s his nature because he’s so professional.’
De Minaur’s opponent Cobolli, the world No. 10, face British wildcard Arthur Fery in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
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