Alex de Minaur given reason to feel much better about himself after developments at Roland Garros since his exit

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Alex de Minaur endured a very disappointing run at Roland Garros, which ended after just two matches.

De Minaur beat qualifier Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a positive opener, with his next opponent Alexander Blockx withdrawing from Roland Garros due to injury.

It meant the Australian advanced directly to the third round in Paris, where the eighth seed met 26th seed Jakub Mensik.

And in one of many early upsets at Roland Garros, particularly in the ATP draw, Mensik won 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in a stunning comeback.

It was a defeat that left De Minaur not only shellshocked, but also very disappointed with himself, although he has since been given a reason to feel much better.

Alex de Minaur given reason to feel better after Roland Garros exit

De Minaur was devastated by his Roland Garros exit, saying afterwards: “Very disappointed in myself, because under all circumstances this is the type of match that I need to find a way to win.”

He added: “Today I just… I don’t really understand what happened or what I did or what changed. I let him back in.”

Since then, however, Czech ace Mensik has stormed his way to the semifinals of Roland Garros, where he meets Alexander Zverev.

The 20-year-old is enjoying a stunning run in Paris, where he followed up his win over De Minaur by knocking out Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca.

While it won’t be massively welcome news for the Australian, De Minaur can take some form of comfort knowing that Mensik is operating at a very high level right now.

He will, of course, feel even better about himself and his game should the Czech player go on to lift the prestigious trophy, as there is certainly no shame in losing to the future champion.

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Alex de Minaur can be confident for grass-court swing

De Minaur certainly struggled at times on clay this season, with early exits suffered at the likes of Madrid and Rome.

The world number seven did, however, find his feet just before Roland Garros, reaching the semifinals in Hamburg.

But his overall disappointing form on the surface is hardly a surprise, with none of the Australian’s 11 career titles having arrived on clay.

In stark contrast, he boasts nine hard-court titles, with the other two coming on grass at Eastbourne and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

That historical success should give De Minaur confidence right now as he turns his focus to the ATP grass-court swing, which concludes with Wimbledon.

Incidentally, his success at Grand Slams has been shared across the four majors, with De Minaur making it to the quarterfinals of all four tournaments.