There is little point in trying to convince anyone that Alex de Minaur’s latest grand slam quarter-final defeat at the Australian Open was different to the rest.

Even the ultra-competitive de Minaur was largely uninterested – at least in the hour or so after the match – in the positives of his 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 loss to an imperious Carlos Alcaraz, who on Sunday night could become the youngest man to win a career grand slam.

Alex De Minaur’s next challenge is getting comfortable where he is uncomfortable right now.Credit: Chris Hopkins

De Minaur played bigger and more fearlessly than ever before, and broke world No.1 Alcaraz’s serve twice in the opening set thanks to those things.

Yet, the result was the same, and that is all de Minaur cares about. He spent this summer, and particularly this Open, telling everyone that he was not satisfied being just another “number” in the draw.

It is patently obvious that the world No.6, who will remain at that ranking unless American Ben Shelton reaches the final, is one of the best few players on the planet. However, he hungers for grand slam glory – and that seems out of reach at the moment.

De Minaur winning only one........

© The Sydney Morning Herald