‘It’s not a dark place’: Tennis legend puts things in perspective for Alex de Minaur ahead of massive Aussie summer
Alex de Minaur has received some words of wisdom from a tennis legend following his rollercoaster ATP Finals campaign.
Tennis legend Wally Masur says Alex de Minaur needs to take time to acknowledge his achievements throughout the season after the Aussie ace revealed he was in a “dark place” following a loss at last week’s ATP Finals in Italy.
De Minaur was shattered after a three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti that extended his poor record against top-10 players, only for the world No.7 to bounce back in his next match to topple American Taylor Fritz.
“I don’t know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one,” de Minaur said after the Musetti defeat.
“I just have to 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 them. I just can’t.
“It feels like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it’s getting to a point where mentally it’s killing me.”
Tennis can be a rollercoaster sport, with de Minaur bouncing back to defeat Fritz in straight sets to book a spot in the semi-finals against Italian heavyweight Jannik Sinner, who went on to win the event for the second year in a row.
The emotional response following the Musetti loss speaks to de Minaur’s frustrations over losing to the top players, but Masur says he can’t be too hard on himself given what he actually achieved.
“The ‘Demon’ is obviously riding a few highs and lows right now,” Masur told the NewsWire at the United Cup draw in Sydney.
“But I think if you were in the ATP Finals and you were contesting for a spot in the final, then it’s not a dark place – it’s an amazing place.
“What he’s done is absolutely extraordinary, but he’s obviously got very high expectations. I suppose he’s been a bit disappointed in himself, especially at slams where he can get to the quarters and then runs into a big gun and he can’t quite take the next step.
“He’s probably a bit frustrated with that, but that (the Fritz win) is going to give him a lot of confidence.”
De Minaur made the quarter-finals at two grand slams this year, but his record against top-10 opponents – he’d lost 16 in a row before his victory over Fritz – suggests he still has a way to go if he wants to compete with the likes of Sinner and world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz who dominated the sport this year.
The 26-year-old isn’t as tall as some of his rivals who possess booming serves and can win cheap points in short rallies, which is why Masur says the 183cm Aussie needs to be faultless.
“In boxing, you have divisions but in tennis, you don’t. If Demon is playing Hubert Hurkacz (196cm) there are a few weight divisions between the two,” he said.
“When he’s playing, everything has to be in sync because he doesn’t possess the easy power of a big player. He can’t rely on a big serve to keep him in a match, so everything has to be on song.
“That requires a real attention to detail and a lot of hard training. You’ve just got to keep knocking on the door.”
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De Minaur and teammate Maya Joint have been drawn in group D for the United Cup, which begins on January 2, with team Australia to take on Czechia and Norway in Sydney.
Australia missed the knockout stage at this year’s event despite de Minaur winning both of his singles matches, with the star to face Jakub Mensik and world No.12 Casper Ruud at the team event won by the USA this year.
“I was looking at the field, and you’ve got your obvious strengths like Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz,” Masur said.
“But there’s a whole bunch of teams that have a gun like Japan with Naomi Osaka or Casper Ruud with Norway.
“There’s one player in that team that’s very capable of winning a singles match, and the mixed doubles match can be quite random, so even if you’ve got a really well-balanced team, one gun player can get you over the line.”
