Alex De Minaur believes he is inching closer to a breakthrough despite falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the opening match at the ATP Finals in Turin.
After a gallant first-set fightback from 1-4, 0-40 down, the speedy Australian surged ahead 5-3 in the tiebreak before Alcaraz took advantage of two slower second serves to snatch it.
Riding the momentum and electricity of the Italian crowd, the world No.2 sealed a blistering encounter between two of the sport’s best movers 7-6(5) 6-2.
“I know at times Carlos is going to be unplayable, but there are also times that if you can hang in there, you get a couple of chances here and there, and you just have to take them,” De Minaur said.
“I was 4-1, 0-40 down in the space of moments without doing much wrong, but I managed to keep my head down, keep fighting, find a way to break through and then all of a sudden we were in a match, 5-3 in a tiebreak ... They are chances, they are moments you have got to take against the best players in the world. Today I didn't take that moment.
“The frustration comes when you walk off the court and talk with your team about it, how the points could have been played out, how I could have done better, but at times, he came up with some extraordinary stuff, especially when he was down.
“The only thing I can say from my side is that I was 5-4, serving for it, and I played those two points with second serves. That's where the big difference is, if I land a first serve and I play with first serves, then I am dictating the point.”
In a milestone season, the 26-year-old remains undaunted by his lopsided record against the game’s heavyweights.
“There are chances, there are moments where he sometimes drops his level, but today in the second set he played pretty flawless in my eyes and made it very difficult for me to hang on with him,” De Minaur said of Alcaraz, the only player so far to record more wins than him this season.
"When I look at it, I don't just look at this match, I look at the collection of matches we've played, and I do feel I am quite close to a breakthrough."
It was a typically mercurial display for the Spanish showman, who struck 21 winners and 19 unforced errors in the first set alone. Sporting a fresh bleach-blond fade, the six-time Grand Slam champion mixed flair and fearless shot-making with moments of lapse, only to regain his rhythm and quell De Minaur’s spirited fightback.
“It was a really difficult match,” Alcaraz said. “On this surface, Alex makes the most of the ball speed; he’s super-fast and really tough on return. I’m happy to get through such a difficult challenge, and with how I’m playing going into the next matches.”
De Minaur will face sixth seed Taylor Fritz and ninth-seeded substitute Lorenzo Musetti in his final two round-robin matches.
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