Alex de Minaur was left with more questions than answers as he was beaten by Lorenzo Musetti in his second match at the ATP Finals.
De Minaur was forced to withstand a crowd on the side of the Italian player, but he was in no mood to use that as an excuse.
Coming into the tournament, De Minaur admitted to a really sad moment of his career, and clearly, his confidence has been knocked somewhat in recent weeks.
Carlos Alcaraz praised De Minaur after beating him in match one of the ATP Finals, and kind words will do little for the Australian at the moment.
A big problem has emerged for De Minaur, and now he’s facing a real problem that he absolutely must find a solution to.
The major issue that Alex de Minaur has to sort out
De Minaur is a very steady player, and his consistency to hold down a place in the top 10 shouldn’t be underestimated.
However, there is now something holding him back that simply has to be addressed if he is to kick on – and De Minaur knows it!
After losing to a top 10 player for the 16th time in succession against players currently in the top 10, De Minaur addressed the elephant in the room in his press conference.
He said: “Just have a talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are issues that can’t keep happening. I mean, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can’t lose ’em. I just can’t.
“I mean, it feels like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. I mean, more than anything, it’s getting to a point where mentally it’s killing me.”
| Oppenent | Event | Rank of Opponent (At the Time) |
| Lorenzo Musetti | ATP Finals | 9 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | ATP Finals | 1 |
| Jannik Sinner | Vienna Open | 2 |
| Jannik Sinner | China Open | 2 |
| Ben Shelton | Canada Masters | 7 |
| Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon | 6 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Barcelona Open | 2 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Rotterdam Open | 3 |
| Jannik Sinner | Australian Open | 1 |
| Jannik Sinner | Davis Cup | 1 |
| Taylor Fritz | Davis Cup | 4 |
| Jannik Sinner | ATP Finals | 1 |
| Daniil Medvedev | ATP Finals | 4 |
| Taylor Fritz | ATP Finals | 5 |
| Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon | 2 |
| Alexander Zverev | French Open | 4 |
The one thing that Alex de Minaur can take confidence from
De Minaur is the sort of player who leaves everything he has out on the court, and there is a lot to like about watching him play tennis.
To a certain degree, he has no issue with beating players outside of the top 10, and that is highlighted by his record when it comes to reaching quarterfinals in events.
In 2025, he has made the last eight on 12 occasions before being knocked out, and that is pretty impressive, to say the least.
The next challenge for De Minaur is to work on his game and work out how to start making more semifinals and finals, which will mean beating top 10 players more often.
The last top 10 player beaten by Alex de Minaur
The last time the Australian beat a player who sat inside the world’s top 10 came all the way back in 2024, when he knocked Daniil Medvedev out of the French Open, when the Russian sat at number five in the world.
To find De Minaur beating a player currently inside the world’s top 10, you would have to go back to the United Cup in the same year when he actually overcame Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic.
Clearly, De Minaur has the ability and know-how to beat these top players but now, the issue has arisen where he simply needs to start doing it on a more consistent basis.
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