'Very rare': Alex de Minaur shrugs off rankings slide to take much needed break before Wimbledon

Alex de Minaur goes into Tuesday night's (AEST) round of 32 clash against Jiri Lehecka at Queen's in an unfamiliar position - refreshed.

The Australian spoke candidly after his early exit from Roland-Garros in late May, critical of tour scheduling which had seen him play virtually non-stop the last few years.

The world No.12 said he was mentally and physically fatigued but it was difficult to take time off the tour knowing it's going to impact his place in the rankings..

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Yet the Australian put those concerns aside and opted not to defend his Rosmalen grass-court title in the Netherlands, even though it could affect his seeding at Wimbledon.

The tour's scheduling has come under the microscope of late, with the extension of all but two Masters tournament adding to an already packed schedule.

De Minaur told AAP that he desperately needed a break and the ramifications of missing tennis did not outweigh the urgent need to step away.

"Obviously, I'm doing a lot better now. After Roland Garros, it was definitely a week of doing nothing, having nothing to do with tennis.

"That's very rare for me, very rare. I can't remember the last time I did that.

"It felt quite weird because I did try to help Katie (Boulter, his fiancée) as a hitting partner in practice and I just didn't enjoy it at all, and I was like 'I can't remember the last time I haven't enjoyed having a hit on the grass'.

"So that was a little bit of a false start, and then I decided to take three more days off and since then, I've been building and feeling better and better, and now I'm very excited to get started."

De Minaur said the time off included doing things a "normal human being" would do.

"Anything that's quite laid back, because tennis is a very stressful game, and there's a lot of intensity. So I enjoyed going out for coffees, to dinners, visiting parks and nature, playing golf," he said.

"Anything I would define as being a normal human being and having a normal human being's life, instead of obsessing about tennis 24/7."

The right-hander admitted the loss to Alexander Bublik in Paris from two sets up was difficult to absorb but in hindsight believes the defeat gave him more insight into how he was feeling.

"In a way, the defeat helped me kind of get a little bit of perspective on why certain things were happening. I realised I was quite mentally drained out and fatigued," he said.

"So I've used these two weeks since to disconnect from the game a little bit and make sure I come back to competing with the same energy that I'm known for."

Losing rankings points in that time has led to de Minaur falling out of the top 10, yet he has faith the break will serve him better in the long run.

"It potentially had big implications for my seeding going into Wimbledon," he said of his hiatus.

"But the way I looked at it - and what is healthy for me - is to stop obsessing about rankings and whether I go up or go down every week, and try to go back to a place where I'm just enjoying playing tennis and not thinking about all those outside factors, because it just gives added stress.

"I've got to start having a little bit more of a mentality of a big player and start backing myself to not have to play so many tournaments, and to hopefully do well in the big events.

"Mentally, I do feel I'm in the right spot, and even if it doesn't bring results this week, I'm confident that it will help me in the long run."