De Minaur and a detailed X-ray of Alcaraz: “When he plays like that, it’s quite difficult to keep up with him”

Alex de Minaur (7th) landed at the ATP Finals in Turin 2025 as one of the great surface specialists, leading the list of tennis players with the most wins on hard courts in the season. However, the power of Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) prevented him from taking a first victory in the contest that brings together the best of the season. True to his style, he carefully analyzed his rival: “When he plays like that, it’s quite difficult to keep up with him.”

The Sydney native knew that his first fight on Italian soil would not be easy. Carlos Alcaraz, number two in the world and head of the competition, led 4-0 on head to head dominating on each of the surfaces on which they have found themselves throughout these years on the circuit.

However, the fact that he came leading the list of players with the most wins on hard courts in 2025 with a total of 42 wins opened a door to the possibility of catching that long-awaited first victory that would break the negative streak against the young man from Murcia, proclaimed eight times in the current calendar.

“I know that sometimes Carlos is unstoppable. But there are also times when, if you hold on, you have a couple of opportunities and you have to take advantage of them”commented the owner of 10 titles on the men’s circuit, after falling 7-6 (5) and 6-2 in 1h 40min, in his second debut in the prestigious competition.

“I think that’s what the first set was about. I was down 4-1, 0-40 in a matter of seconds without having done anything wrong. I managed to stay focused, keep fighting and find a way to break serve. And suddenly, we were in the match,” continued the latest ATP 500 champion from Washington, who became the fifth player to fail in his four opening matches in the tournament.

Along the same lines, the six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist was honest: “5-3 up in the tiebreak… 5-4, two serves… As always, they are opportunities, they are moments that must be taken advantage of against the best players in the world. “Today I didn’t take advantage of that moment and then the game became very difficult.”.

“He played at a very high level, one of the best games he has played against me. When he plays like that, it is quite difficult to keep up with him. When he is at his best, he has a great repertoire of shots and can score winning points from any point on the court”closed the 26-year-old Oceanic, who will face the American Taylor Fritz (4th) in the second duel of the Jimmy Connors group.

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