TENNIS: 'It breaks me inside': De Minaur gutted after Wimbledon exit

LONDON — Alex de Minaur admitted he is struggling with self-doubt after his latest Grand Slam campaign ended in disappointment, falling to Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.

The Australian fifth seed suffered a 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 defeat, extending his wait for a breakthrough major title despite years of consistent performances on the ATP Tour.

"Just not what I expected of myself. 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," De Minaur said after the loss.

"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. It's very tough."

Despite reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 6 and winning 11 ATP titles, De Minaur has yet to capture a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam title.

The 27-year-old has consistently reached the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments since 2024, but has been unable to progress beyond that stage.

Having defeated Cobolli in both of their previous meetings, De Minaur believed he had the tools to win but admitted he failed to execute his game plan.

"I've got lots of ways in which I can hurt him. But if I don't play to my capabilities and, more than that, I hinder myself, then it's not ideal," he said.

"Just not good enough mentally. That's how you explain it."

De Minaur acknowledged the emotional toll of repeatedly falling short at the sport's biggest tournaments, saying the setbacks have begun to affect his confidence.

"Sadly, it just feels like they (the losses) keep on coming. Yeah, it's not easy to take," he said.

"To fall short constantly, you start doubting yourself. You start doubting whether you're going to be able to break through and take it to the next step."

The Australian said he plans to take a break from competition to regroup before returning to the tour.

"I won't play a tournament for a while. But ... the goals, the beliefs, the dreams that you have, they kind of start fading away," he said.

"I'm not going to say, I've had enough, I'm hanging up the racquets. It's fresh now. It hurts like hell now.

"But I'm a competitor through and through. So I'll get back up, and I'll give myself another chance. 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." -Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, Editing by Alison Williams/Reuters