ATP Finals: Alex de Minaur recovers from ‘a dark place’ to keep bid alive and send Carlos Alcaraz through

De Minaur will be among those who want Alcaraz to achieve victory, as they continue their interest in the end-of-season competitions despite starting with back-to-back defeats.

The 26-year-old was reluctant to trust the news that he would qualify with a win over Alcaraz when he was first informed in his post-match interview.

De Minaur had lost all of his last 16 matches against top 10 players and all five of his previous matches at the ATP Finals.

Musetti’s painful defeat on Tuesday, when De Minaur took a 5-3 lead in the final set and then went on to lose four straight games, had shaken his confidence.

But against an opponent he had lost the previous two encounters with, De Minaur reset mentally to put together an inspired display against Fritz.

“It means a lot. I was in a pretty dark place a few days ago,” De Minaur told Sky Sports.

“More than anything, I’m proud of my efforts. Not just for coming out and winning, but also for the mentality. I’ve made peace with what happened and I’m committed.”

He said on the field in his post-match interview: “I’ve been through quite a bit of heartbreak lately.

“I worked really hard, so it was nice to get a positive reward.

“[The loss to Musetti] It was a hard pill to swallow. I didn’t think much today, I just went out and decided what I needed to do. “I just kept backing myself and whether it worked or not, I was going to leave it all out there today.”