The minutes before Ymer took on Australia's number one, there was drama in the almost fully packed Royal Tennis Hall.
Ymer suddenly had to go back to the locker room. Afterwards, Ymer didn't want to go into details.
I had to go to the toilet. I was quite nervous.
Despite the tension, he stepped in and gave de Minaur a good fight. Both held their serve until 5–5. Then came the first break – and the Australian served home the set (7–5) and took a firm grip on the match.
"Felt heavy"
The air went out of Ymer, who lost the second set 1–6 without being able to offer much resistance.
I got a lesson in the second set. I had hoped to be able to do more. I don't want to get used to thinking that the performance is okay. I started (the match) quite well, but got tired. There were a few long duels in the first set that took their toll, and I felt heavy, says Ymer.
The 26-year-old, who is ranked 50th in the world, is making a serious effort to get back to his career's previous heights. The march back after the 18-month long suspension (three missed residence reports) began with a victory in the ITF tournament in Luxembourg last weekend.
The performance during long periods against Alex de Minaur shows that he is on the right track.
Hard to say if it's a step in the right direction, but I tried to do the best with what I had. Tempo and physics are the two biggest things I have left. Being used to the tempo and not getting caught off guard.
Question marks remain
There are still some question marks on the court. When I should take bigger risks, when I should volley, but that comes with matches, he says.
Australia, who reached the semifinals last year, is the second seed in the tournament. Anything but a victory for Lleyton Hewitt's players is a first-class sensation.
Despite withdrawals from players like Jordan Thompson, Nick Kyrgios, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia is superior in terms of individual world rankings. There, de Minaur is eighth and Aleksandar Vukic 66th.
The best Swedish player? Leo Borg at 484th place. He lost the first set (4–6) but went up to 4–3 in the second and had three break balls. Vukic saved all of them and equalized.
Vukic broke to 5–4 and served for the match. But a Borg never gives up. The 21-year-old worked his way to another break ball before Vukic decided the match.
Mikael Ymer–Alex de Minaur 5–7, 1–6.
Leo Borg–Aleksandar Vukic 4–6, 4–6.
Saturday: Filip Bergevi/André Göransson–Matthew Ebden/John Peers, Leo Borg–Alex de Minaur, Mikael Ymer–Aleksandar Vukic.
First to three won matches wins the meeting in the first qualifying round. The winner awaits either Chile or Belgium in the next round.
