“I was in a pretty dark place”: Alex De Minaur finds light again with first ATP Finals win

Alex de Minaur’s long wait for a victory at the ATP Finals finally ended with a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph over Taylor Fritz in Turin. The win—his first after five previous losses at the year-end event—kept his qualification hopes alive in the Jimmy Connors group and marked a symbolic moment in a challenging week for the Australian.

Speaking candidly after the match, the 26-year-old reflected on what he described as one of the ‘darkest times’ of his career, after suffering two consecutive defeats in Turin against Alcaraz and Musetti. This time, he found revenge against Fritz, in a victory that was revitalizing both sportingly and emotionally. “Yeah, it was very good. Obviously, coming from a heartbreak just a couple of days ago,” the Australian mentioned to Tennis Channel in the on-court interview. “I came into the match today with my tactics and my mindset very clear. I was going to live and die by the sword.”

The World No. 7 had left the match against Musetti devastated, admitting in the press conference his disappointment over a loss where he squandered a 5-3 lead in the third set, while Musetti took four consecutive games to achieve an epic comeback at the end.

“As I said, it’s probably one of the darkest times I’ve had in my career,” the Australian emphasized after his victory against Fritz. “Some people may think that I’m exaggerating, but there’s a lot that goes on in this head of mine. I’m a perfectionist. I ask a lot out of myself, and sometimes that’s one of my bigger downfalls. It’s just a feel-good moment.”

“Whatever happens, as I said, I walked into the match today with a clear mindset. I made my peace. I just wanted to go out there and play on my terms — just forget about the results for a while. And look at that, I played some pretty good tennis today.”

De Minaur now has the first chance to advance as the second player in the group, while Carlos Alcaraz's presence in the semi-finals is already guaranteed. If the Spaniard manages to defeat Musetti in the decisive match, De Minaur will secure his passage to the semi-finals, while a victory for the Italian will eliminate De Minaur from the competition.

Considering that Alcaraz will enter his match with the mission of a win to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking, the Spaniard will be desperate for the victory despite having already secured his spot in the semi-finals. As the favorite against Musetti, De Minaur appears to be in a better position than his colleague to advance, something that seemed distant just two days ago.

“A couple of days ago I was in a pretty dark place and it was a tough pill to swallow,” De Minaur commented to Sky Sports about the loss to Musetti. “So more than anything I feel proud of my efforts, not just for coming out and winning, but also just the mindset. I kind of made peace with what had happened and I just committed to my game from the first point to the last and I’m very proud of that.”

De Minaur broke a streak of 5 consecutive losses at the ATP Finals, and perhaps even worse, a streak of 16 consecutive defeats against Top 10 tennis players. His last Top 10 win had been during this year's Laver Cup against Zverev, while his last Top 10 victory in a Tour competition was back at Roland Garros 2024 against Daniil Medvedev—a year and a half had passed before De Minaur again defeated one of the elite players.

Despite all this, it was enough to leave him with one foot in the semi-finals—although he needs Alcaraz to fulfill his responsibility and defeat Musetti. Nevertheless, the Australian achieved a boost in his ranking, which momentarily places him as World No. 6, numerically tied with Fritz (No. 5).

If Alcaraz defeats Musetti in the night session, De Minaur will advance as the second player in the group and will face defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, with whom he has a regrettable 0-12 H2H record, having taken only one set from Sinner out of the 29 they have played against each other.