Alex de Minaur now trails Jannik Sinner 13-0 in their head-to-head.
The Aussie came unstuck against the Italian once more, as De Minaur lost to Sinner 5-7, 2-6 in the ATP Finals semifinals.
De Minaur made a strong start, but was broken at 5-5 in the first set and never recovered, as Sinner qualified for his third consecutive final in Turin.
The world number seven struggled with his serve at times during the match, especially when his opponent began piling on the pressure.
During his post-match press conference, De Minaur was asked why his serve % dropped, and if he believes Sinner is a tougher opponent for him than the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.
Alex de Minaur says he deals with more ‘constant pressure’ against Jannik Sinner than anyone else
De Minaur explained in detail how Sinner is able to nullify his serve when they play each other.
“I think one of the things that makes it very difficult against Jannik [Sinner] is his return of serve, right? That’s one of the biggest things for me,” he said.
“If I’m not serving really well, then I’m in trouble. If I’m missing a lot of first serves and I’m starting points with second serves, that’s when I’m kind of behind in the rally. Against other players, I can maneuver that from time to time.
“It’s a lot easier to dictate play if you’re landing first serves, right? That’s the biggest thing. It just got to a point where maybe I was trying to over-serve a little bit ’cause I felt like he was getting on top of my serves. Maybe I started to push a little bit more and lost a little bit of rhythm.”
Serving stats from Jannik Sinner vs Alex de Minaur
| Player | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| Jannik Sinner | 7 | 0 | 75% | 84% | 47% |
| Alex de Minaur | 8 | 2 | 52% | 63% | 48% |
Despite losing his 13th match to Sinner, De Minaur insists he is getting closer to that elusive first win.
“I’m going on the right track,” he said.
“I think the level of that first set was very good. I had my chances. I had a 0-40 early in that set that could have given me a little bit of buffer. Who knows what could have happened?
“But hey, back to the drawing board. Yeah, time to bring on a new season.”
The 26-year-old was then asked to compare playing Sinner with other tennis greats.
“I do think there’s more constant pressure. That’s the biggest thing with Jannik,” said De Minaur
“More often than not, I feel like with Jannik, you can get into a bit of a snowball effect. After one break, the second break comes, and all of a sudden, you’re doing your best to fight off potentially a bagel or 6-1.
“That’s mainly due to how well he’s returning and his serving at the moment. His serving under duress in big points has been exceptional.
“I think I’m probably not the first player this week to talk about that.
“That’s been very impressive by him.”
As De Minaur said, it’s back to the drawing board now, but there are plenty of positives for him to reflect on in 2025.
Alex de Minaur’s 2025 highlights
The Aussie enjoyed another solid Grand Slam campaign in 2025, winning 10+ matches for the second year in a row.
He qualified for two major quarterfinals (Australian Open, US Open) and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Alex de Minaur’s 2025 Grand Slam results
- Australian Open – Lost to Jannik Sinner in QF
- French Open – Lost to Alexander Bublik in 2R
- Wimbledon – Lost to Novak Djokovic in 4R
- US Open – Lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime in QF
His performances at the Masters 1000 level are also worth noting, as De Minaur made three quarterfinals and a semifinal.
Alex de Minaur’s 2025 Masters 1000 results
- Indian Wells – Lost to Francisco Cerundolo in 4R
- Miami Open – Lost to Matteo Berrettini in 4R
- Monte-Carlo Masters – Lost to Lorenzo Musetti in SF
- Madrid Open – Lost to Lorenzo Musetti in 4R
- Italian Open – Lost to Tommy Paul in 4R
- Canadian Open – Lost to Ben Shelton in QF
- Cincinnati Open – Lost to Reilly Opelka in 2R
- Shanghai Masters – Lost to Daniil Medvedev in QF
- Paris Masters – Lost to Alexander Bublik in QF
Adding to that a win at the Washington Open in July, De Minaur finished the year ranked seventh in the world.
He’ll no doubt hope to break into the top five next year, and could well be in with a good chance of doing so.
De Minaur will return to tennis in the build-up to the Australian Open, which begins on Monday, January 12, 2026.
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