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Alex de Minaur pinpoints what went wrong after losing his first match of the season against Casper Ruud

Originally posted on HITC | By Cameron Greenlees | Last updated Jan 3, 2026 3:00 PM ET

Alex de Minaur’s 2026 season has started with a defeat at the United Cup.

In front of a home crowd, the Australian fell to former world number two Casper Ruud in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

Norway’s Ruud levelled the tie at the international tournament following the country’s loss in women’s singles earlier in the day.

After his defeat, de Minaur faced the media and admitted what went wrong in the first performance of his 2026 campaign.

Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

Alex de Minaur reacts to losing to Casper Ruud at the United Cup

In his post-match press conference, de Minaur said: “It’s not really part of my DNA to throw in so many double faults. I think today more than anything was just getting used to the conditions.

“I struggled a little bit playing at night. A little bit heavier. It felt like, yeah, I wasn’t able to get that feeling on my serve of kicking it in, which again, in the past, I’ve had no problem doing.

“I know he’s got to stand far back, and he’s going to look to try to hit a heavy ball and start into the rally, but I’m not necessarily… I’m alright with starting the point like that. It just lost a little bit of rhythm, more than anything.

“I think Casper came out today playing super aggressively, right? He executed that game plan, which again, sometimes he’s just going to stay too good.

“It’s probably not the way he normally plays. He normally likes to stay in rallies a little bit longer. Today, he was going for all his shots, and they were landing in. He deserved to win.”

Photo by Izhar KHAN / AFP via Getty Images

Alex de Minaur remains positive after defeat to Casper Ruud

De Minaur continued: “At the end of the day, it’s not life or death. I mean, it’s the first match of the year.

“I’ve had numerous times where I’ve come out, and I’ve lost the first match of the United Cup and then come out and found my tennis straight away.

“You know, I’ve been practicing and playing great all week. It was just that I came up with a really good opponent who not only played great, but I think served unbelievably.

“I don’t know what the actual percentage ended up being at the end of the match, but I just know that all the chances I had, he came up with big serves.

“I think if I get one of those breaks, then we’re probably looking at a different match. Hey, the points didn’t go my side today, and we move on and look forward to the next match.”

De Minaur’s next match at the United Cup will be against Jakub Mensik of Czechia.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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