Alex de Minaur’s ATP Finals run has come to a crushing end, defeated in straight sets again by Jannik Sinner.
Qualifying for the last four at the end-of-year tournament with a brilliant win over Taylor Fritz, the Aussie met Sinner for the 13th time in his career.
And just like the 12 meetings before between the pair, de Minaur was beaten convincingly 7-5, 6-2, meaning he is now winless in 13 matches against the Italian.
In what has become one of the most one-sided head-to-head records in tennis history, de Minaur has only taken two sets off him in all those encounters.
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On Sunday morning (AEDT), after going with the World No. 2 in the opening games, the errors snuck in as the Aussie took extra risks.
In Sky Sports commentary former World No. 4 Tim Henman said that after de Minaur was broken at 5-5 in the first set, the match was as good as done.
“De Minaur has had a great year; he did very well to get through to the semi-finals. He knew that he had to play out of his comfort zone,” Henman said.
“He knew he had to take risks and keep going for his shots, and the reality was, he was able to do that for 10 games to get to 5-5.
“But then just, a shot here and there, a couple of unforced errors, missed the line by a couple of inches, Sinner hits a couple of great shots, and there is the break of serve.”
Speaking after the match, de Minaur said he’s just got to keep improving after another frustrating ATP Finals campaign.
“I mean, look, I had a little shift in perspective. Of course, like, sitting here right now, I feel like I should have finished my Turin campaign having won two matches instead of one, but you can’t really change the past,” he said.
“You’ve just got to do your best to learn from it, get back up, and keep on heading forward, right? That’s ultimately the goal now.
“Obviously, I’m in a much better place. I think today there was a lot of good stuff. Ultimately, we just have to keep on improving. There’s no other way.”
Yet despite the fact he was handed another convincing defeat at the hands of Sinner, de Minaur remains confident he can beat him.
“I’ve faced Sinner so many times and, even if many people don’t believe it, I know how to beat him,” he added.
“The problem is that it’s not that simple. You have to hit the ball very hard, very flat, very deep, and very close to the lines. I try to do it, but it’s not the easiest thing to do.
“To have a chance, I feel like I need to serve well throughout the entire match. In the second set, my serve dropped a bit; it could have done more. If I don’t serve very well, I’m in trouble.
“I keep thinking I still have a lot to give. I haven’t reached my peak yet, but I have to be careful about how much I push beyond my limits and how much pressure I put on myself, because that’s what takes me into those dark places. I need to find a healthy balance.”
Although the loss may be crushing, it isn’t all bad for de Minaur, who netted the largest windfall of his 2025 season, taking home a bit over $700,000 for making the semis.
