“I could be wrong. I could then look at the match and see what I could have done better to expose him in any way, shape or form. The feeling I’ve got just walking off the court is that I played a pretty high-level Novak, which I feel like if he has that level, he will win another title here.

“I’ll try not to take it too hard on myself because ultimately these guys; they’ve done a lot in the sport. If they bring their best level, and you’re just slightly off your game, this is what happens.”

A frank de Minaur, who discussed his top-10 goals in the week leading up to this year’s Open, said he was no longer satisfied with making the round of 16 at grand slams, something he has now achieved five times.

The 23-year-old made it to the quarter-finals just once from those opportunities, at the COVID-weakened 2020 US Open.

“I’m happy with the summer I’ve had, but really I want to do better than fourth round at a slam. It’s great, I’m happy, but I’m not content,” he said.

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“I want more. I want to be in the quarter-finals, be in the semi-finals, really go deep. I want to take the next step. That’s what I want to do.

“Like everything, it will add fuel to the fire. I’ll get my head down, I’ll speak to my team, and work on the things I
need to work on to take the next step because this is not where I want my goals to be, making fourth rounds of slams.”

De Minaur was still able to draw positives from his hard-fought four-set victory over French veteran Adrian Mannarino in the second round at Melbourne Park, as well as his defeat of Nadal at the United Cup.

“There are definitely positives out there,” he said.

“Now, it’s just about forgetting what happened out there today and moving on because ultimately in this life you’re going to have a couple of these performances, nights, days, where things just don’t go your way.

“There’s plenty of them. If you take it too hard, then it’s going to linger for a while. You’ve got to get ready for the next week.”

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