Alex de Minaur doesn't necessarily think he made a bad decision by being brutally honest about his feelings following a heartbreaking ATP Finals loss to Lorenzo Musetti.
After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in his Turin opener, de Minaur also made a slow start against Musetti but recovered to take a 5-7 6-3 5-3 lead. But just when it seemed that the world No. 7 would complete a three-set comeback win, he started spraying errors and ended up losing the next four games and the match.
Speaking with reporters afterward, a dejected de Minaur described his feelings as "quite dark" and added: "I don't know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one."
The Australian tennis star has been pretty consistent over the past few years, but has often struggled to get over the hump in the biggest matches. The stat that shows it the best is his 0-6 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals.
De Minaur on candidly opening up at the ATP Finals
Ultimately, I dont think its the worst thing to be completely honest and open. A lot of the time as players, we try to put on a brave face, but certain losses are a lot harder. We would probably be lying if we said this defeat has not affected me, Im happy with the result and all that stuff. For me, it was a chance to be completely honest with myself and speak from the heart. Ultimately, for me, thats the way I can learn from those moments and experiences and try not to make the same mistakes again," the 26-year-old told Tennis365.
After the Musetti loss, a bit of a miracle happened for de Minaur when he beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match and reached the ATP Finals knock-out stage with a 1-2 record. He was then beaten by Jannik Sinner in the semifinal.
The Australian is now competing at this weekend's UTS event in London.
