Alex de Minaur had vowed to do some damage at the ATP Finals but his promise came to little on the opening day of the end-of-season championships in Turin as Carlos Alcaraz proved the bulldozer of the Australian's dreams.
De Minaur, in his second straight crack at the end-of-season men's championship featuring the world's best, looked good to his word when he fought back valiantly and had a golden chance to nick a marathon first set in the tiebreak on Sunday.
Yet once the world No.1 had edged that stanza, he moved up into a different gear to the Aussie No.1 with his powerful 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 triumph.
