Alex de Minaur’s disappointment at Queen’s Club costs Australia’s great hope an all-important top 8 spot for Wimbledon.
De Minaur’s first round loss last week to Lorenzo Musetti, two days later winning his second career grass title at Hertogenboschmoved the 25-year-old up two places to world No. 9 in the new rankings.
Had he been seeded in the top 8 for the first time at a Grand Slam, de Minaur would have been guaranteed not to play a higher-ranked opponent until at least the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Get the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
He is now at risk of running into top seed Yannick Sinner, eight-time winner Novak Djokovic or defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16.
He will learn which future opponent could be in the draw on Thursday in London.
De Minaur has never progressed beyond the fourth round at the All England Club but has been in the form of his life this year as he heads the smallest nine-man challenge.
Three more Australians reached the second round of qualifying at Roehampton on Monday, with Alex Bolt, James Duckworth and Li Tu racking up impressive victories.
Bolt stormed to an emphatic 6-1 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker before giving his compatriot welcome support on court as Duckworth struggled 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-4 against the German Benjamin Hassan.
Bolt, 31, was given little time to prepare for his match after being moved as an alternate on Monday morning (local time) following the late withdrawal of 11th seed Valentin Vaschero.
“I found out at 10.50 for an 11 o’clock start,” said world No. 234 Bolt, who next faces 201st-ranked Rudolf Molecker on Wednesday.
“I was about to get some food at the restaurant when my name was called over the loudspeaker and they said someone had withdrawn, so I had 10 minutes to get my whites on and get on the court.”
After firing 24 winners and conceding just six service points, the South Australian admitted: “It all happened so fast, even now I’m still trying to process it.”
The in-form Duckworth will next face world No.148 Nicolas Moreno De Alboran on his return.
“It was a super tough match,” said the 30-year-old, who has now won nine of his 12 matches on grass in the past month and climbed to world No. 78.
“That first set was really tough, I didn’t get many chances on his serve the whole set, and after the tiebreak I obviously had a few chances.
“I was disappointed with a few unforced errors on my set points, but I was really happy with the way I came back in the second and third. I really stepped up my aggression and I thought that was the difference in the end.”
Tu, 28, from Adelaide, defeated France’s Valentin Royer 6-3 7-6 (7-5).
“I feel great. This is my first Wimbledon, so I feel really excited,” Tu said.
“Not only for the win, but also for how I played today. I played my brand, came forward a lot and hit a lot of volleys. I’m more proud of that and the way I was able to execute my game.”
But there was no joy for perennial Wimbledon player Marc Pohlmans, who went down 6-3 6-1 to Belgium’s two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist David Goffen.
Fellow Australians Tristan Schoolkate, Philip Sekulic and Dane Sweeny were also beaten in the first round.
The draw for the women’s qualifiers begins in Rowehampton on Tuesday (local time), with 10 Australian women bidding for the second round.
