Alex de Minaur lamented his inability to conquer the world’s best players was going to “eat me alive” after blowing his chance to break his ATP Finals duck in Italy, going down in three sets to local hero Lorenzo Musetti.
The defeat in Turin stretched de Minaur’s losing streak at the elite season-ending event to five matches.
After losing the first set to the Italian in Turin, two days after losing his opening match to world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, de Minaur showed the quality he’d promised to bring to the event.
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The Australian No.1 rallied to take the second set and then looked like powering away when he was up 5-3 in the third, winning a 31-shot rally to get within a game of victory, Musetti serving to stay alive.
Musetti didn’t just hold serve but went on to win the next three games against a lapsing de Minaur to collect the 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win in two hours and 47 minutes, leaving de Minaur furious at himself for missing another chance to solidify his status among the world’s best players.
“If I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can’t lose them. I just can’t,” he said.
“I mean, it feels like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it’s getting to a point where mentally it’s killing me.
“I just (need to) win these matches. It’s something that if it doesn’t get sorted, it’s going to eat me alive.
“I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later. I don’t know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one.”
Musetti, playing in the finals for the first time, labelled himself a “warrior” after coming from behind to win.
“I was really struggling physically because Alex raised the level and intensity and I was really struggling to find the solution,” Musetti said.
“But at the end with a big heart and big passion for this game, I don’t know from where, I started to feel better and play better.
“I am a warrior. I have improved a lot on the mental side and I am pushing myself to the limit because I am playing every match against the top players.”
After losing to Alcaraz, de Minaur said he felt like he was “close to a breakthrough” against the world’s best players, having struggled to consistently challenge those above him on the rankings.
But the world No.6 remains winless across the past two years of the ATP Finals ahead of a final game against Taylor Fritz, who he has beaten five times in their 10 previous encounters.
Despite the three-set loss, de Minaur could still progress to the semi-finals but would need a comprehensive straight-sets win over Fritz and Alcaraz to beat Musetti in the last pool game.
