Australian Ace Secures Semis Spot in Dramatic Turin Finish
In a stunning turnaround of fortune, Australia's Alex de Minaur has fought his way into the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in Turin. The world number seven secured his place in the last four with a determined victory over American Taylor Fritz, followed by an anxious wait for the result of Carlos Alcaraz's match against Lorenzo Musetti.
De Minaur's progression was ultimately confirmed when the Spanish sensation Alcaraz defeated the weary Italian Musetti in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. This result not only guaranteed Alcaraz would finish the year as world number one but also paved the way for the Australian's unexpected advancement in the prestigious season-ending tournament.
From 'Dark Place' to Triumphant Victory
The path to the semi-finals was anything but straightforward for De Minaur. Just days earlier, he had experienced what he described as being in a "pretty dark place" after a devastating loss to Lorenzo Musetti, despite having served for the match.
Facing elimination on Thursday, the 26-year-old Australian number one produced a backs-to-the-wall performance to overcome world number six Fritz 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes. The victory marked his first ever win at the ATP Finals at his sixth attempt, having gone winless on his debut in Turin last year and losing to both Alcaraz and Musetti earlier this week.
The match reached a critical moment in the opening set when De Minaur found himself locked at 4-4 and facing 0-30 on his serve, with Fritz threatening to take control. However, the Australian demonstrated remarkable resilience, rebounding to hold serve before dominating the tie-break and asserting his supremacy in a largely one-sided second set.
Emotional Reaction and Looking Ahead
After clinching the victory, an emotional De Minaur looked to the heavens and shook his hands in joy before approaching the courtside television camera. He scrawled "Finally" alongside a smiley emoji on the lens, perfectly capturing the significance of his breakthrough moment.
"I've dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently," De Minaur admitted afterwards. "It was good to finally get a win here in Turin. More than anything, I feel proud of my efforts, not for just coming out and winning, but also just for the mindset. I kind of made peace with it, and I just committed to my game from the first point to the last."
The Australian highlighted the mental challenge of bouncing back from his previous disappointment: "A couple days ago, I was in a pretty dark place, and it was a tough pill to swallow. I was gonna leave everything out there today and I ended up with a really good match from the start 'til the end. I've worked really hard, so it was good to get some positive reward for that hard work."
Meanwhile, Alcaraz's victory over Musetti followed a familiar pattern for the young Spanish star. The first set remained competitive until the eleventh game, when Musetti lost an 11-minute battle on his serve at 4-5 to surrender the set. From that point, it became one-way traffic as an exhausted Musetti, who had played through the Asian swing and lost a marathon final in Athens to Novak Djokovic just days earlier, struggled to cope with Alcaraz's elevated level.
Alcaraz now advances to face either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Zverev in the next round, while De Minaur's remarkable recovery ensures his campaign in Turin continues into the weekend's decisive matches.
