Alex de Minaur has shown extraordinary resilience to bounce back from the depths of misery to book an “incredible” place in the last four of the ATP Finals in Turin.
Australia’s No. 1, a picture of desperation just a few nights earlier after feeling he had thrown away victory in defeat to Lorenzo Musetti, began his unlikely resurrection on Thursday with a back-to-the-wall 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Taylor Fritz, his first-ever victory in the season-ending championship.
After completing the win from two sets to nil – the only way he could stay in the tournament – De Minaur was indebted to Carlos Alcaraz, who sealed the end-of-season No. 1 ranking by beating home favorite Musetti 6-4 6-1.
“I mean, sport,” De Minaur said, before Alcaraz’s match. “A few days ago was one of the toughest days I’ve had in my career. I was in a very, very dark place.”
“I could tell you I hated the sport. Now here we are two days later and I feel good about myself. It’s unbelievable.”
So against all odds, De Minaur finished second behind Alcaraz in the Jimmy Connors Group, qualifying for the semi-finals. He is only the third Australian to ever do so, after John Newcombe (1973-74) and Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 and 2002 winner and 2004 finalist.
Such a scenario would have seemed completely unlikely after world number 7 De Minaur was left completely dejected and lost after serving for Tuesday’s match against tired but inspired home favorite Musetti.
But on Thursday, with a sympathetic crowd right behind him, the 26-year-old Sydneysider showed tremendous determination to beat world number 6 Fritz.
It wasn’t easy. He was stuck at 4-4 and 0-30 behind while serving in the opening set, with the big-serving Fritz threatening to win the set, condemning him to an early exit.
Instead, he recovered in that match, then dominated with a brilliant tiebreak and then reasserted his supremacy in a fairly one-sided second set to eventually win an ATP Finals match at the sixth attempt, having gone winless on his debut in Turin last year and losing to Alcaraz and Musetti earlier this week.
After winning in an hour and 34 minutes, De Minaur looked skyward and shook his hands in joy before going to the courtside TV camera and scrawling “Finally” next to a smiley face on the lens.
“I’ve had quite a bit of heartbreak lately,” he said. “It was good to finally get a win here in Turin.
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“It means a lot. I mean, a few days ago I was in a pretty dark place, and it was a tough pill to swallow.
“So more than anything, I’m proud of my efforts, not just because I came out and won, but also just because of the mentality. I’m kind of at peace with it and I’ve committed to my game from the first point to the last point.
“I wanted to leave everything behind today and I ended up with a really good match from start to finish. I worked really hard so it was good to get a positive reward for that hard work.”
Alcaraz dismissed Musetti in straight sets later on Thursday. Like many with Alcaraz, the first set was tight until it wasn’t anymore. Musetti served well until he lost 4-5 in an 11-minute match and with it the set.
After that it was one-way traffic, an exhausted Musetti, who played through the Asian swing and lost a marathon final in Athens to Novak Djokovic last Sunday, could not cope when Alcaraz raised his level.
And although he needed three match points to wrap up, the outcome was never in doubt. Next for him: Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Zverev.
“I had to deal with my nerves as best I could and I was happy with the way I did,” said the Spaniard, who has had an incredible year with eight titles and two grand slam titles in Paris and New York.
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