Nemesis gets Demon again in finals debut

In seven attempts, Alex de Minaur had never beaten Jannik Sinner and his run of outs continued in match number eight as the Australian made his debut at the ATP finals with a loss to the world No.1.

De Minaur became the first Australian to compete in the men’s tour’s end-of-season championship for two decades after overcoming a troublesome hip injury but copped a horror draw, beginning with Sinner, who wasn’t troubled in the 6-3, 6-4 win at the Inalpi Arena in Turin.

Aussie No.1 de Minaur has only ever taken a single set off his Italian opponent who was spurred on to his classy victory by a boisterous home crowd.

The defeat continued de Minaur’s five-year horror show against the Italian, who showed his class by offering a bottle of water mid-match to a spectator who was unwell in the stands, which forced the game to be stopped.

But it only delayed the inevitable for de Minaur, who will next face former US Open champ Daniil Medvedev, who also lost his opening match, which included a racquet-busting temper tantrum.

It means de Minaur may have to beat both Medvedev and then Amerciam Taylor Fritz in his remaining group matches to finish in the top-two in the ‘Ilie Nastase Group’ and qualify for the semi-finals.

In better news for Australia, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell won their first match in the doubles having also qualified for the finals.

Despite the defeat, de Minaur will end 2024 inside the top 10 on the rankings for the first time, having entrenched himself in the world’s elite with two tournament victories and 47 wins to make the ATP finals, with a thirst to get ever better and conquer those above him.

“I have just constantly looked at myself in the mirror and tried to find ways to get better,” de Minaur said when asked about his development.

“It is what I have done every single year, continuously trying to improve and get better and have fun ways to get better. It is never to be satisfied. Huge credit to my whole team, all the people around me who push me.

“Things just click. You look and try to find and tweak a few things until you hit the right spot and then the confidence works and it is a great thing when you are playing good tennis and high on confidence.”

De Minaur knows things don’t get easier for him against Medvedev and then Fritz, but he said “this is where I want to be”.

“Medvedev himself is an interesting character,” de Minaur said.

“We have played a lot of matches, had a lot of battles. I always look forward to those kinds of matches. I think we are both tacticians out there when we play each other. We try and put balls in certain areas where they won’t like.

“Taylor Fritz is powerful, cool under pressure and has a great serve. He has a lot of firepower about him. He has shown what he is capable of this year. Making a final of a grand slam is not an easy feat.”