De Minaur will probably be amongst these prepared Alcaraz to victory after sustaining his curiosity within the season-ending competitors regardless of opening with back-to-back defeats.
The 26-year-old was reluctant to belief the information that he would qualify with an Alcaraz win when he was initially knowledgeable in his post-match interview.
De Minaur had misplaced his previous 16 matches in opposition to prime 10 gamers, and every of the 5 matches he had beforehand performed on the ATP Finals.
A painful defeat by Musetti on Tuesday, during which De Minaur held a 5-3 lead within the deciding set earlier than shedding 4 consecutive video games to concede the match, had rocked his confidence.
However, in opposition to an opponent whom he had misplaced the 2 earlier conferences, De Minaur reset mentally to provide an impressed show in opposition to Fritz.
“It means quite a bit. A few days in the past I used to be in a reasonably darkish place,” De Minaur advised Sky Sports activities.
“Greater than something, I really feel happy with my efforts. Not for simply popping out and profitable, but in addition the mindset. I made peace with what had occurred and simply dedicated.”
Talking in his post-match interview, he mentioned on court docket: “I’ve handled a good bit of heartbreak lately.
“I’ve labored actually exhausting, so it was good to get a optimistic reward for that.
“[The loss to Musetti] was a tricky capsule to swallow. I did not overthink right now, I simply went out and dedicated to what I wanted to do. I continued to again myself and, whether or not it labored or it did not, I used to be going to go away all of it on the market right now.”
