ATP Finals star bluntly shuts down question as Jannik Sinner piles on more misery

Alex de Minaur shut down suggestions that his best level wasn't "good enough" to beat Jannik Sinner after losing to the Italian in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals. De Minaur looked impressive in the first set and had plenty of chances.

However, Sinner still managed to come out on top and then ran away with the second set to win 7-5 6-2. De Minaur now has a losing 0-13 record against Sinner, and admitted that he could have served better in Saturday's showdown, but he was still taken aback by one "tough question".

After bowing out in the semi-finals, De Minaur was asked: "I don't want to sound cocky, but do you remember a set that you played better than the first one in your career today? To me, it was almost your top level possible and still not enough. I'm just curious."

The 26-year-old paused for a moment and replied: "Umm.. That's a tough question to ask someone because it kind of sounds like my best is not good enough in your eyes. I have won sets against Jannik in the past.

"Look, I'm going to say that, yeah, there was a lot of good stuff in that first set. I think one of the key elements was I dropped my percentage of first serve in the crucial stages, which allowed him to jump on top of me in that 5-5 game. He came up with some pretty good shots, as well.

"Look, I played him many, many times. Even though a lot of people may not think so, I know how to beat him. It's just not that easy to do? You've got to hit the ball very hard, very flat, very deep and very close to the lines.

"It is something that I try to do, but it's obviously not the easiest thing to do. I do think for me to have genuine chances, I need to serve well throughout the whole match. My serve dropped a little bit and could have been better."

De Minaur has also faced the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and the Big Three. The 10-time title winner has beaten both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and explained how Sinner compares to the other champions.

"I do think there's more constant pressure. That's the biggest thing with Jannik. More often than not I feel like with Jannik you can get into a bit of a snowball effect. After one break, the second break comes, and all of a sudden you're doing your best to fight off potentially a bagel or 6-1," the Aussie added.

"That's mainly due to how well he's returning and his serving at the moment. His serving under duress in big points has been exceptional. I think I'm probably not the first player this week to talk about that. That's been very impressive by him."