Alex de Minaur's gloomy grand slam ordeals have materialised once more in the Paris sunshine, Australia's main man blown away out of the French Open just when opportunity had knocked deafeningly for all the would-be contenders.
With Jannik Sinner's sensational exit having made everyone believe their chance could be at hand, de Minaur's enduring dream was this time dynamited by young Czech powerhouse Jakub Mensik 0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3 in the third round.
For a 20-year-old who'd collapsed on court and had to be ferried to the medical centre in a wheelchair after his four-hour 41-minute epic win over Mariano Navone just two days earlier, Mensik was outrageously good, rebounding from a horror opening set to utterly dominate.
The continuing hot, sticky conditions on Roland Garros's lovely greenhouse Court Simonne Mathieu looked sure to benefit de Minaur, as it felt almost unimaginable that the figure who'd been at the centre of such alarming scenes on Wednesday, unable to get up off the clay for several minutes, should look so comfortable.
