Alex de Minaur 'makes peace', finds his momentum at Nitto ATP Finals

Match Reaction

De Minaur 'makes peace', finds his momentum at Nitto ATP Finals

Australian reflects on shifting mindset during turbulent week in Turin

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Alex de Minaur owns a 1-2 record at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2025. By Jerome Coombe

After a bruising start to his Nitto ATP Finals week, Alex de Minaur found something he has been chasing all season: momentum on his own terms.

The Australian earned his first win at the season finale on Thursday, powering past Taylor Fritz to banish the demons of five previous losses in Turin (0-3 in 2024, 1-2 in 2025). The 7-6(3), 6-3 result restored a sense of belief after he admitted his third-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday was one of the toughest emotional challenges of his career.

“For the first time in a long time, I forgot about the ‘what ifs’, the results, what happens if I miss this shot, what happens if I lose this match,” De Minaur said. “I just committed to the way I wanted to play from the first point to the last. A couple days ago I didn't. That's what hurt so much.

“Today I knew that no matter what, I wanted to be proud of my decision making, my aggressive mindset, and I wanted to go out there and try to win the match.”

The turnaround didn’t come by accident for the No. 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. Against Fritz, De Minaur played with the conviction that deserted him earlier in the week, dictating from the baseline and stepping forward whenever possible.

He credits this in part to the team that surrounds him, which includes British WTA Tour star and fiancée Katie Boulter, who picked him up after the narrow defeat to Musetti.

“To be honest, I'm incredibly lucky with the support system that I have, the people I've got around me, every single one in my team, even Katie,” said De Minaur, who won the ATP 500 in Washington this year. “They were able to — or they tried to — talk some sense into me. A couple of days ago was one of the toughest days I've had in my career... I could tell you that I hated the sport. Here we are two days later and I'm feeling great about myself. It's incredible.

“But more than anything, regardless of the result today, I had made peace with myself. That was a big, big moment. I knew the way I wanted to play. I was going to commit to it from the first point to the last. I was okay with the result not going my way. I had made peace with that. I just wanted to play my way.”

The finish didn’t come without drama. After missing a match point on return at 5-2 in the second set and slipping to 0/30 when serving for victory, De Minaur could have folded. Instead, he laughed it off — literally.

“After that match point, I just started laughing with my team because I was like ‘There's something up there that's against me… I've got the evil eye or something’,” De Minaur joked. “I'm just not allowed to win matches anymore. Then we go to 0/30.

“Actually, it took some of my best tennis today. I hit an incredible ace, then at 15/30 I served and volleyed. I just had the ultimate aggressive mindset. Even from the toughest moments, which I could have easily gone back into default and tried to play solid and not to lose, I played to win. That's why I was able to win today. So I'm very proud.”

De Minaur could qualify for the semi-finals in Turin if Carlos Alcaraz defeats Musetti on Thursday evening, but regardless of that result, De Minaur feels like he’s edging closer to the game’s elite. He tested World No. 1 Alcaraz in his first round-robin clash and took eventual Beijing champion Jannik Sinner to three sets in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 event.

“I feel like I've gained a lot of momentum recently in these types of matches,” De Minaur said when asked of his and other top players' ability to challenge the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner. “I've gone from a stage where you go out there, you compete, but you're not really getting a lot of chances. I do feel like I'm getting my chances. Even here against Carlos in the first set [tie-break], 5/3 up, 5/4, two serves, I'm putting myself in pretty good positions.

“Jannik, I played a good match against him in Beijing. In Vienna, he got the better of me, as well. But I do feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I'm gaining momentum. I do think that they feel it, as well. I do think we're going to be knocking on the door, right? They've played at an incredibly high level for an extended period of time. We are just going to keep on getting better and wait for our opportunity.”

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