A frustrated Alex de Minaur admits he is struggling to elevate his game after suffering his 16th consecutive defeat to a top 10 player in a singles tournament at the ATP Finals.
The world No.7 came agonisingly close to ending his losing streak at the season-ending Finals on Tuesday when leading Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 3-1, 40-30, in the deciding set. However, De Minaur was ousted by Musetti, who rallied back to clinch a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory and boost his chances of reaching the knockout stages. The Australian is making his second appearance at the ATP Finals but has lost all five of his matches played so far.
De Minaur, who has a Tour-leading 42 hardcourt wins this season, has bemoned his latest perdormance against Musetti. Since January, his only victory over a top 10 player was in a team competition, the Laver Cup, when he beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
“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.”
During his 16-match losing run against the top 10, the 26-year-old has been beaten by Zverev, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev and now Musetti.
Whilst he has come up short against the top guns in recent months, de Minaur has still managed to reach two Grand Slam quarter-finals and win the Citi Open in Washington this year. He currently has a win-loss record of 55-23.
“It feels like it’s been that type of year where I’ve had what feels like a whole lot of matches that should have gone my way and just somehow don’t,” he reflected.
“I don’t feel great.”
There is still hope for De Minaur, who has another chance to end his losing streak against top 10 players on Thursday when he plays Fritz. They are currently tied at 5-5 in their head-to-head with the American winning their two most recent meetings, including their ATP Finals clash last year.
