The Aussie tennis star has now lost to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in back-to-back Rotterdam finals.
Alex de Minaur has lost in the Rotterdam Open final for the second year running, but won plenty of admirers as he pushed World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz all the way. The Aussie tennis star once again felt the sinking feeling of losing a big ATP final to a top-10 opponent, going down to Spanish superstar Alcaraz in three sets despite a typically gutsy display in the decider.
De Minaur, who has leapfrogged Novak Djokovic to rise to World No.6, stretched Alcaraz in Sunday night’s title blockbuster before succumbing 6-4 3-6 6-2. It marks the second year in a row that de Minaur has lost the indoor hard-court final, after losing to World No.1 Jannik Sinner in 2024.
While Alcaraz is celebrating his first-ever title in an indoor event, de Minaur once again fell short in his bid to become the first Australian to win the prestigious tournament since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004. Hewitt remains the only Aussie to win the event in ATP history.
De Minaur will rise from No.8 to an equal career-best ranking of No.6, but will be left frustrated at losing for a sixth time against a top-10 opponent in a final. He’s also suffered defeats in deciders to Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alcaraz, Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev.
We’re pushing for bigger and better things. It’s been a lot of improvements in my game over the last couple years, and I’m going to keep on pushing for more,” the Aussie said afterwards. “It’s been two years now with this runner-up trophy – I’m hoping I’ll get my hand on the winner’s one day.”
Speaking to reporters after the match, de Minaur revealed he had been under the weather all week. “I’m just looking forward to getting into bed and hopefully getting some rest,” he said. “I don’t need excuses, I go out there, compete, I tried my best, wasn’t enough today.”
Carlos Alcaraz cashes in amid Jannik Sinner’s absence
Sinner withdrew from Rotterdam at the last minute, opting to rest after winning the Australian Open last month. Asked if he had missed his Italian rival at the ATP 500 event, Alcaraz quipped: “Not really!”
He added: “Now that I’m holding the trophy, I’m going to say that I didn’t miss him in the tournament. It could have been great having him and me in the same tournament. Probably we could have played a great final. This week has been a really good week. I came here not feeling 100 percent well with a cold but every day I felt better and better.”
Katie Boulter’s ‘have a baby’ comment explained
Meanwhile, a cheeky comment from de Minaur’s fiancee Katie Boulter that seemed to suggest some big family news was on the horizon for her and the Aussie star has been explained. Boulter tweeted on Saturday after de Minaur advanced to the final: “Get married = win slam. Have a baby = win 500.”
Because de Minaur was playing an ATP 500 final, many interpreted the comment to be about her relationship, with many speculating Boulter could be pregnant. De Minaur even replied: “You got any ideas you wanna share with me???”
But it’s since emerged that Boulter was referencing her fellow WTA players Madison Keys and Belinda Bencic. Keys recently won the Australian Open just weeks after getting married, while Bencic won the Abu Dhabi title on Saturday just months after giving birth to her first child.