US Open tennis 2026: Alex de Minaur thrashed Botic van de Zandschuld results, highlights; Jelena Dokic comments, react

Alex de Minaur has offered a “straightforward” explanation for his poor run of form after a disappointing second round exit from the US Open at the hands of Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

Having never lost any of their previous four encounters, de Minaur never really looked in the contest as he slumped to a straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 loss.

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Backing up just a day after his delayed first-round win over Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri, de Minaur was rusty and made several big unforced errors.

Usually one of his most reliable weapons, de Minaur’s forehand in particular was way out of whack – he missed several straightforward winners, and several others sailed metres long of the baseline.

After his match, de Minaur wasn’t making excuses.

“My level today wasn’t good enough. It’s pretty straightforward,” he said, according to AAP.

“I gave myself every chance by being competitive, having a good mindset, a good attitude, but it was just one of those days where just the feeling of the ball on the strings wasn’t there.

"I was making a lot of errors, which is not really my normal game style. I can't really explain the reasoning of it, but just it felt like the more I tried, the more intensity, the more fired up I was getting, I just kept on making unforced errors.

"When those sort of things happen and the odd chance that you have, he comes out with some good tennis - it's just a recipe for a tough day at the office."

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Despite the frustration of exiting early in the tournament, de Minaur was calm about his situation.

“Obviously would have loved to do better, as any competitor would, but it’s what happens in this sort of sport. Everyone loses matches,” he said.

"Everyone is losing matches that maybe they would love to have back.

“... It’s one I would love to have back, but we move forward and it’s not the end of the world.”

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The second-round exit follows losses in the third and fourth rounds at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon after making a seventh grand slam quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open.

He has also suffered several early exits at recent ATP Tour events outside the slams, prompting calls for him to move on from long-time coach Adolfo Gutierrez.

The pair have been working together for the better part of two decades since de Minaur moved to Spain when he was nine.

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In commentary for Nine, Jelena Dokic suggested she wasn't surprised there were calls for them to split, but also acknowledged the rarity in tennis of such a long partnership.

"Only Alex knows what he needs … a lot of players will change coaches quickly, especially if they feel like the results are not there," she said.

“That’s up to him to make those decisions and what he wants to do. Let’s not forget Adolfo has gotten him to such a high point in his career – to the top five in the world.”

Dokic went on to say de Minaur’s perfectionist personality could also be starting to take its toll. After his Wimbledon exit, de Minaur looked on the verge of tears as he lamented his recent form struggles.

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"We know his mindset, we know what a perfectionist he is. He wants to get to the top and maybe not doing that in the last two years has affected him," she said.

"For him, wins have become almost a relief and not so much satisfaction and joy, and that's hard. Losses have almost been end-of-the-world type things. He's been really, really hard on himself. I think he has to give himself a bit more of a pat on the back and a bit more credit.

"Whatever he decides to do with coaching, the way that he goes about things and the mindset around it is going to have to change. It's very hard to keep this up, to constantly expect from yourself to win. That's been an issue for him.

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"When you've got the constant pressure of feeling like you want to win and get to the top, and maybe that's not quite happening the way you want to, you can start to lose motivation, you can get really flat.

“I think that that’s what’s happened – he’s lost a little bit of that mojo to be out there.”

Dokic said de Minaur might also need to reassess his schedule and potentially reduce his playing load.

De Minaur’s loss leaves Dane Sweeny, who earlier in the day stunned Italian No.13 seed Lorenzo Musetti, as the last Aussie standing in either singles draw.

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