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Alex de Minaur caught in Aussie tennis 'disgrace' after loss in Los Cabos final

Australian tennis fans were left fuming that they couldn't watch Alex de Minaur take on Stefanos Tsitsipas.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
Alex de Minaur and Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Los Cabos final.
Alex de Minaur lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Los Cabos final. Image: Getty

Alex de Minaur's loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Los Cabos final proved doubly frustrating for Aussie tennis fans, who weren't able to watch the match on TV on any platform or streaming service. De Minaur took on Tsitsipas in the final in Mexico on Sunday, but due to a recent change there was no way for fans to watch.

The ATP and WTA tours are broadcast by beIN Sports, with Aussie fans previously able to watch on Foxtel and Kayo. But Foxtel recently announced that it was ditching beIN Sports from its subscriptions due to flagging interest in global football.

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The decision means Aussie tennis fans have no way of watching any of the tournaments outside of the four grand slams on TV. Sports journalist Peter Johnson tweeted on Sunday: "URGENT!! SOS for Tennis broadcast for ATP Tour and WTA tennis in Australia. beIN Foxtel/Kayo deal over. No week in week out coverage for Australia of both Tours. Need a new mainstream Broadcast deal NOW."

AAP reporter Darren Walton commented: "It’s rather extraordinary that we can’t watch Alex de Minaur in an ATP Tour final." Others described it as a "joke" and "disgrace" and called for something to be done.

In announcing the decision earlier this year, Foxtel said: “As part of our constant evaluation of programming and channels, we have made the decision not to renew our partnership with BeIn Sports. We continue to be the home of Australia’s biggest and fastest growing sports including NRL, AFL, Cricket, Netball, NBL, Motorsports and many others which we distribute through a wide variety of channels across Foxtel and stream on Kayo Sports.” Unfortunately tennis is not on that list, leaving fans up in arms.

Stefanos Tsitsipas continues domination of Alex de Minaur

De Minaur's career record against Tsitsipas is now 0-10 after the Aussie battler went down 6-3 6-4 to the World No.5. Making his first appearance in Los Cabos, Tsitsipas converted four of nine break points to claim his 10th career title in just 86 minutes.

De Minaur momentarily threatened a comeback in the second set after the World No.19 saved three points that would have seen him go down a double break at 3-2. But any hope of sending the match into a deciding set was dashed when Tsitsipas produced another crucial break for a 5-4 lead that he converted into victory.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, pictured here after beating Alex De Minaur in Los Cabos.
Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates with the trophy after beating Alex De Minaur in Los Cabos. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

"I will take the positives out of this week," Tsitsipas told reporters. "I had a few good matches here and I think it's a good start to the (American hardcourt) swing.

"We've experienced a lot of good tennis this week from a lot of good players. The competition was high, and I'm happy to walk away with the trophy."

The triumph marked Tsitsipas' first hard-court title since the Marseille indoors almost three years ago. The Greek star now will leapfrog Casper Ruud to No. 4 in the latest ATP rankings.

De Minaur has managed to win just one set in his past eight meetings with the 24-year-old Tsitsipas. The Aussie will be hoping to avoid the Greek star as he continues his preparations for the US Open.

with AAP

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