Alexei Popyrin will take a break from tennis for the good of his mental health after his shock Wimbledon first-round exit, eerily echoing the same equally gloomy lament from Alex de Minaur following his French Open defeat.
Extraordinarily, in the space of just a month after dispiriting losses at separate grand slams, Australia's top two tennis men have now been left complaining of feelings of demotivation and burn-out, both physical and mental, while protesting they can't abide seeing a tennis racquet for a while.
De Minaur's misery surfaced after losing from two sets up against Alexander Bublik in Paris, but 20th seed Popyrin sounded just as wounded on Monday after being outplayed 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4 to inspired British wildcard Arthur Fery, a player ranked 439 places below him.
