Alex de Minaur crashes OUT of Queen’s in first-round humiliation as boyfriend of Britain’s golden girl Katie Boulter suffers nightmare blow in Wimbledon preparation
- Alex de Minaur crashed out of Queen’s on Tuesday
- The Australian suffered a shock defeat in the first round
- His girlfriend, Katie Boulter, is in action in Birmingham
Alex de Minaur has suffered a shock first-round exit at Queen’s Club after losing to Lorenzo Musetti in a major setback in the Australian’s preparation for Wimbledon.
De Minaur, friend of British star Katie Boulter, reached the men’s singles final last year but fell at the first hurdle on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old took the first set against his Italian victory, but won only six more games as he fell to a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat.
De Minaur had started the competition in good form after winning the grass field event ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands last weekend, but will not feature again for the rest of the week.
Meanwhile, Boulter will begin her Birmingham Classic campaign later on Tuesday afternoon.
Alex de Minaur crashed out of Queen’s in the first round of the tournament
The Australian suffered a shock 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Italian Lorenzo Musetti
De Minaur is the boyfriend of British tennis star Katie Boulter (left)
The 27-year-old, who is seeded fourth in the tournament, will play Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the Round of 32.
Boulter won the Rothesay Open title in Nottingham on the same day as De Minaur’s victory in the Netherlands, but the Australian was in the doghouse despite their double win.
De Minaur, who won his title six hours prior to Boulter’s final in the East Midlands, did not make the jump to Britain to watch her match.
However, he had raced to see her win in San Diego earlier this year, after winning himself in Acapulco.
“My boyfriend didn’t make the trip even though I thought he would after his win in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, so we’ll have to talk about that tonight and see if we’re still together,” Boulter said. “I hope he’s listening to this, we have something to talk about!”
De Minaur rose to No. 7 in the world rankings after last week’s ATP Tour title, and the Australian was delighted with his performance.
De Minaur and Boulter enjoyed a dream weekend last week by winning both titles on the field
“For me it means a new highlight in my career, so that’s always a great little bonus,” De Minaur said in his on-track interview.
‘My first week on grass couldn’t have gone better, so I’m looking forward to next week at Queen’s and the whole grass season with a smile on my face. I am happy that I was able to achieve a victory here in the Netherlands.’
He will now have to go back to the drawing board before the third major of the year starts on July 1.