Australian tennis hopes of an encouraging start to the grass-court season have been dashed as both Alexei Popyrin and Kim Birrell got knocked out of the annual pre-Wimbledon tournament at Rosmalen.
The double defeat in the Dutch event on Thursday meant there are no Australians left in the singles at the venue where Alex de Minaur lifted the title in 2024.
With de Minaur taking a rest before competing at Queen's Club next week, most hopes rested on sixth seed Popyrin, who was hoping to rebound swiftly after the disappointment of his fourth-round exit at the French Open at the hands of Tommy Paul.
