Alex de Minaur’s Queen’s Club let-down has cost Australia’s big hope an all-important top-eight seeding for Wimbledon. De Minaur’s first-round loss last week to Lorenzo Musetti, two days after claiming his second career grass-court title at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, has relegated the 25-year-old two spots down to world No.9 in the new rankings.
“I was about to go get a feed at the restaurant when my name got called over the loudspeaker saying that someone had pulled out, so I had 10 minutes to get my whites on and get on court.” After firing 24 winners and conceding only six points on serve, the South Australian admitted: “It all just happened so quick, even now I’m still trying to process it properly.” The in-form Duckworth will next face world No.148 Nicolas Moreno De Alboran after his comeback win.