ATP Finals: Alex de Minaur recovers from ‘dark place’ to keep show alive and sends Carlos Alcaraz via

De Minaur will be among those who want Alcaraz to win after he maintained interest in the final competition of the season despite opening with two successive defeats.

The 26-year-old was reluctant to trust news of his qualification with Alcaraz’s win when initially told in his post-match interview.

De Minaur has lost his past 16 matches to top 10 players, and each of his five previous matches in the ATP Finals.

An agonizing defeat to Musetti on Tuesday, in which De Minaur led 5-3 in the deciding set before losing four straight games to concede, shook their confidence.

However, against an opponent he had beaten in the previous two matches, De Minaur recalibrated his mind to put in an inspired display against Fritz.

“It means a lot. Two days ago I was in a very dark place,” De Minaur told Sky Sports.

“More than anything, I’m proud of my effort. Not just to go out and win, but also the mentality. I’ve come to terms with what happened and I’ve just committed.”

Speaking in his post-match interview, he said on the field: “I’ve dealt with a fair amount of heartbreak recently.

“I worked really hard, so it was nice to get a positive reward for that.

“[The loss to Musetti] It was a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t think much today, I just went out and stuck to what I had to do. “I just kept supporting myself, and whether it worked out or not, I was going to leave it all out there today.”