Alex de Minaur says he knows how to beat Jannik Sinner. It is precisely the implementation that is the challenge.
“I know how to beat him. It’s just not that easy to do, right? You have to hit the ball very hard, very flat, very deep and very close to the lines,” De Minaur said after his semi-final elimination against the Italian at the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday. “It’s something I’m trying to do, but it’s obviously not the easiest thing to do.
“I think that to get real opportunities I have to serve well throughout the match. My serve dropped a bit and could have been better.”
De Minaur now trails Sinner 0-13 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, but held his own for much of the first set in their final match in Turin. The Australian led 5-4 in the first set, but was broken on serve at 5-5 and from then on it was largely one-way traffic.
The 26-year-old feels Sinner’s ruthlessness will be the biggest challenge when he faces the world number 2.
“I do think there is a more constant pressure,” De Minaur said. “That’s the biggest thing with Jannik. More often than not I feel like you can kind of get into a snowball effect with Jannik. After one break comes the second break, and suddenly you’re doing your best to possibly fend off a bagel or 6-1.
“That’s mainly because of how well he’s coming back and his service at the moment. His service in big points has been exceptional. I think I’m probably not the first player this week to talk about that. That’s been very impressive for him.”
De Minaur’s semi-final defeat in Turin caps off an otherwise excellent year. The Australian finishes with a record of 56-24, with his first season surpassing the 50-win mark, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. De Minaur’s only title of 2025 came at the ATP 500 event in Washington.
The number 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings would like to continue again in 2026.
“I still think I have more to give,” said De Minaur, who won against Taylor Fritz in the round-robin stage in Turin. “I haven’t reached my peak yet. I also have to be careful how much I push myself and how much pressure I put on myself because that takes me to dark places. The desire to keep improving and wanting more and expecting more. I have to find a healthy balance.
“As we have seen in the last two matches, I have the ability to play with a higher tempo and a more aggressive style of tennis. I think this is what needs to come out to beat the best players in the world.”
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