Alex de Minaur will head off to Paris with thoughts of what might have been as his bid to arrive at the French Open with a maiden clay-court title under his belt crumbled in Hamburg.
The indomitable Australian had never had a better chance to land a title on the red stuff as he entered the Hamburg Open semis as comfortably the highest-ranked player left in the last-four, and then bossed Tommy Paul by a set and 3-0 on Friday.
But after a gruelling week's work for two of the fittest players on the circuit, it was the American who felt he'd "hung tough" to finish the strongest, fighting back for an exceptional 2-6 6-3 6-3 victory after a two-and-a-quarter hour dogfight.
