{"id":284131,"date":"2025-11-14T14:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/284131\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:31:15","slug":"australian-tennis-star-alex-de-minaur-sinks-taylor-fritz-to-keep-atp-finals-hopes-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/284131\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur sinks Taylor Fritz to keep ATP Finals hopes alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex de Minaur has bounced back from the depths of misery<\/a> after his loss to Lorenzo Musetti by prevailing in a must-win match against Taylor Fritz in Turin to keep his ATP Finals<\/a> hopes alive.<\/p>\n

The Australian No.1\u2019s backs-to-the-wall 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over the world No.6 Fritz means he will now progress to the semi-finals of the season-ending championship after Carlos Alcaraz defeated Musetti in their group decider later on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Such a scenario had looked wholly improbable after world No.7 de Minaur had been left completely dejected, losing after he\u2019d served for the match against the weary but inspired home favourite Musetti on Tuesday at the Inalpi Arena.<\/p>\n

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He was the picture of misery at his post-match news conference<\/a>, admitting that losing matches he felt he should have won was \u201cgetting to a point where mentally it\u2019s killing me\u201d. He added that if he didn\u2019t get it sorted, \u201cit\u2019s going to eat me alive\u201d.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, with a sympathetic crowd right behind him, the 26-year-old Sydneysider showed magnificent resolve to earn the two-sets-to-zero victory that was his only chance of staying in the tournament.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t come easy. He was locked at 4-4 and down 0-30 on his serve in the opening set, with the big-serving Fritz threatening to win the set which would condemn him to an early exit.<\/p>\n

Instead, he rebounded in that game, went on to dominate with a brilliant tie break and then asserted his supremacy in a fairly one-sided second set to finally win an ATP Finals match at the sixth attempt, after having gone winless on his debut in Turin last year and then losing to Alcaraz and Musetti earlier this week.<\/p>\n

After triumphing in an hour 34 minutes, de Minaur looked to the heavens and shook his hands in joy before going over to the courtside TV camera and scrawling \u201cFinally\u201d alongside a smiley emoji on the lens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently. It was good to – finally – get a win here in Turin,\u201d he explained afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot. I mean, a couple days ago, I was in a pretty dark place, and it was a tough pill to swallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo more than anything, I feel proud of my efforts, not for just coming out and winning, but also just for the mindset. I kind of make peace with it, and I just committed to my game from the first point to the last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was gonna leave everything out there today and I ended up with a really good match from the start \u2018til the end. I\u2019ve worked really hard, so it was good to get some positive reward for that hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlexAlex de Minaur looks to the skies in relief and delight after earning his first ATP Finals triumph. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

When told by his interviewer that he would make the last-four if Alcaraz beat Musetti, he said: \u201cIs that actually true or not, I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t trust you right now… I\u2019m gonna have to see what happens.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, hey, ultimately, I kind of made my peace today, I was able to come onto the court with the mindset of not worrying about the \u2018what ifs?\u2019 and just focus on what I needed to do. And it\u2019s going to be a little bit more of that tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever happens, happens, but I won\u2019t be paying too much attention to the tennis. I\u2019ll be relaxing and having a nice night here in Torino.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later on Thursday Alcaraz did indeed defeat Musetti, which was a double blow for Italy.<\/p>\n

The victory also eliminated Jannik Sinner\u2019s hopes of reclaiming the world No.1 ranking with Alcaraz now guaranteed of holding on to the top spot.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, de Minaur is still alive in the tournament despite the fact he won the same number of round-robin matches as Musetti and Fritz.<\/p>\n

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