Alex de Minaur showcases reasons to be worried after seldom seen outburst on court amid form dip

Alex de Minaur is currently not firing on all cylinders. That can be shown during his 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Quentin Halys in the second round of the Cincinnati Open. Despite the win, he still struggled to perform to his best levels and left the court with one of his racket smashed following a rare outburst from the Aussie.

Mostly known for his calm demeanour on court, the 27-year-old has not been pleased with his performances on court in recent times, and that can be shown by the results. A fast start to 2026 has since been almost forgotten as he starts to slowly slide away from the upper echelon of the sport.

His contest against Halys should have been a comfortable win, but going 6-1 down in the first set was a truly confusing and concerning sight. Winning only seven points on serve in that set, something needed to be done to alter the trajectory in this contest.

He managed to commence what would be a commendable comeback as he won the final three games of the second set to claw himself back level and set up a third-set showdown. He failed to take three break points in the early stages, and his frustration only grew after blowing a 0-40 lead.

Halys forced deuce at 4-4 with de Minaur getting another chance to break. The forehand went long and he burst with rage, throwing the racket to the ground with some anger in front of the startled spectators. He picked the wrecked racket up and carried on with a new one.

The match would hinge on a tiebreak, in which the Aussie would prevail 7-4, coolly converting a second match point. The win was the main thing, but another struggle on court continues to drive de Minaur mad as he searches for his prior self.

It may be hard to remember how promising of a start to the year de Minaur had. Reaching the quarter-final of his home Australian Open, it took a rampant Carlos Alcaraz to blast past him, another reality check in his aspirations of winning a Grand Slam with another quarter-final exit bugging him deeply.

That was soon off his mind when he was lifting his 11th piece of ATP silverware, taking home the ABN AMRO Open title at the third time of asking against the number two seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. It seemed to have peaked there.

Just one win in his next three tournaments was a sign of things to come ahead of a quarter-final defeat against Valentin Vacherot at the Monte-Carlo Masters held him back once more. He struggled to gain any momentum on clay, losing at the first hurdle in Madrid and Rome before blowing a lead against Tommy Paul in the last-four of the Hamburg Open.

His latest Grand Slam attempts at Roland Garros and Wimbledon were more damaging setbacks. While he did reach the final of the Libema Open in between the major events, the straight sets defeat to Flavio Cobolli at Wimbledon almost broke him. A defeated and deflated interview followed before he was perked up after marrying fellow tennis player Katie Boulter.

He would have hoped these positive vibes would give him the kick dearly needed on court, but so far to no avail. De Minaur missed a match point after having two attempts to serve it out against Cameron Norrie in the third round of the Canadian Open, another bitter blow. He faces another Brit in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, this time in the form of Wimbledon hero Arthur Fery in what is set to be a tight contest.