REJUVENATED DE MINAUR READY TO HIT THE GRASS AFTER MAKING 'DIFFICULT DECISION'

Alex de Minaur during a practice session ahead of his Queen’s opener. (Getty/Kate McShane)

A much-needed "disconnect" from the sport has placed Alex de Minaur in a healthier position to tackle the grass court season after his body caved into the crammed schedule.

The 26-year-old confessed that he felt "burnt out" following a shock collapse in the second-round of Roland-Garros from a two-set-to-love lead.

"What's not normal is that for the last three, four years, I've had two days off after Davis Cup, and I've gone straight into pre-season, straight into the new season again," an honest de Minaur said after suffering the disappointing result.

"It's just never-ending. That's the sheer fact of it."

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De Minaur hasn't played on the Tour since that forgettable encounter on May 29, but he has taken the time to rest his body and hopefully return stronger.

"I'm doing a lot better now," de Minaur told AAP as he prepares to participate at the Queen's Club Championships this week.

"After Roland-Garros, it was definitely a week of doing nothing, having nothing to do with tennis. That's very rare for me, very rare. I can't remember the last time I did that. It felt quite weird because I did try to help Katie (Boulter) as a hitting partner in practice, and I just didn't enjoy it at all. I was like, 'I can't remember the last time I haven't enjoyed having a hit on the grass'.

"That was a little bit of a false start, and then I decided to take three more days off, and since then, I've been building and feeling better and better, and now I'm very excited to get started."

His defeat against Alexander Bublik in Paris was the Aussie's earliest exit at a Slam since Wimbledon two years ago.

But weirdly, the unexpected loss may have done de Minaur a world of good.

"In a way, the defeat (at Roland-Garros) helped me kind of get a little bit of perspective on why certain things were happening," he revealed. "I realised I was quite mentally drained and fatigued, so I've used these two weeks to disconnect from the game a little bit and make sure I come back to competing with the same energy that I'm known for."

'Demon' has dropped out of the world's top-10 in the latest updated rankings (currently 12th), and the decision to skip Holland's Libéma Open played a major role, passing up the opportunity to claim back-to-back titles in 's-Hertogenbosch.

"It was a difficult decision not to defend my title, but it wasn't only the mind, but the body that was a little battered up. My shoulder didn't feel amazing," he said.

"But the way I looked at it — and what is healthy for me — is to stop obsessing about rankings and whether I go up or go down every week, and try to go back to a place where I'm just enjoying playing tennis and not thinking about all those outside factors, because it just gives added stress.

"I've got to start having a little bit more of a mentality of a big player and start backing myself to not have to play so many tournaments, and to hopefully do well in the big events. Mentally, I do feel I'm in the right spot, and even if it doesn't bring results this week, I'm confident that it will help me in the long run."

Last year's Wimbledon quarter-finalist will face the unseeded Jiří Lehečka in the round of 32 in Queens.

De Minaur reached the final of the ATP 500 event in 2023, falling short in straight sets against Carlos Alcaraz.

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