His mojo misplaced, Alex de Minaur admits he has a mountain to climb to make the season-ending ATP Finals for a third straight year.
Unless he navigates a way out of the hole he's dug for himself, a shock second-round US Open loss - his earliest exit in five years - has left de Minaur facing a rankings freefall in coming months.
After a stellar 2025 campaign, Australia's world No.7 will be defending semi-final rankings points in Beijing and Vienna and quarter-final points at the season's remaining two Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris.