Falling to 0-5 lifetime at the ATP Finals has left the worst possible taste in Alex de Minaur’s mouth. The Aussie was not happy after he fell to Lorenzo Musetti from a lineup on Tuesday to fall to 0-2 in group play at this year’s ATP Finals.
It’s been a great season for the seventh-ranked Austrian, who has racked up a personal-best 55 wins and added a 500-level title in Washington, DC this summer, saving three championship points in a superb final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
But this is not enough for De Minaur. A 1-10 record against the Top 10, which includes losses to Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz in Turin, is no doubt weighing on him.
Be the best you have to beat the best, and that has proven to be a tough task this year for De Minaur. He suffered his disappointment after Tuesday’s 7-5, 3-6 7-5 loss to Alex de Minaur, one in which he held a 5-3 lead in the final set after twice having a point to go in the doubles split, then finally gave up in the last four games.
“I think it’s probably a good thing that I don’t express my feelings now because they are quite dark,” De Minaur told reporters. “To be honest, I feel like it’s been the kind of year where I’ve had a lot of games that should have gone my way and just didn’t, so … I mean, yeah, don’t feel good.”
De Minaur says she needs to start winning these types of matches if she wants to break into tennis’ bigger stages. Keep in mind, De Minaur has been a pillar of consistency at the majors, but he’s lost all six Grand Slam quarterfinals he’s played in over the past two seasons.
“Just talk to my team and try to resolve these issues because these are issues that cannot continue to happen,” he said. “If I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these games, I can’t miss. I just can’t.”
De Minaur will take a shot at Taylor Fritz on Thursday. He shared his ten previous meetings with the American. For his mental health, a win could be the perfect tonic.
“It’s getting to a point where mentally it’s killing me,” he said. “It’s something that if it’s not sorted out, it’s going to eat me alive. I’ve got to fix it sooner rather than later – I don’t know how many more times I can take a loss like this.”
