After finally defeating Jimmy Connors following 16 successive losses to his fellow American, the never-say-die Vitas Gerulaitis strode into the press room at Madison Square Garden in New York to utter the immortal line.
“And let that be a lesson to you all,” he told the rapt throng of reporters. “No-one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row …”
That now-enshrined triumph came in January 1980 in the semi-finals of the Masters, the early incarnation of the present-day end-of-season ATP Finals.
So 45 years on, what price history repeating itself on Saturday night, with a defiant Australian underdog strutting into the media room at Turin’s Inalpi Arena after beating Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals and growling: “No-one beats Alex de Minaur 13 times in a row…”?
Why not? De Minaur is tennis’s ultimate trier, having already used that Gerulaitis line when he finally beat Stefanos Tsitsipas last year after 10 straight losses, smiling: “I would like to say no-one beats me 11 times in a row, but, hey, Stefanos has had my number for a very long time, so I’m glad I was able to get one back.”
His try, try and try-again mentality means he’ll never buy into the tennis joke a Demon will always have to give best to a Sinner, but he’s going to have to overturn one of the most one-sided rivalries ever between two top-10 players.
Because, routinely, Sinner doesn’t just defeat de Minaur, he shreds him with relentless accuracy, power and speed. He leads 27-2 in sets. It’s like he’s a skinny, superhero version of the Australian himself. De Minaur-plus, if you will.
“You feel like you just have been slapped across the face,” as the Aussie sighed after being dismantled at the Australian Open.
But he battles on admirably, even if his public demeanour can sometimes betray despondency and frustration, just as on Tuesday when he lost from a winning position against Lorenzo Musetti and then beat himself up in a press conference, suggesting his near-misses were “eating me alive”.
Yet his spirit is uncrushable, like the scuttling, indestructible cockroach that one commentator once described him, rather unflatteringly, as resembling on court.
There are no giant leaps forward, but small, incremental improvements. In Turin, it was his first Finals win and his first victory of the season over a top-10 opponent (discounting the near-exhibition Laver Cup). In Beijing, he took his first set off Sinner for five years.
So, he swears he’s getting there, bit by bit, ever stronger, ever closer. “I do feel like I’m getting my chances now, putting myself in pretty good positions, even here against (world No.1) Carlos (Alcaraz),” he mused.
“Jannik, I played a good match against him in Beijing, and in Vienna. I’m gaining momentum – and I do think that they feel it as well.
“We’re going to be knocking on the door (of the big two). Sinner and Alcaraz have played at an incredibly high level for an extended period. We are just going to keep on getting better and wait for our opportunity, right?”
Then a pause as he smiled: “Because I’m hoping that they’re not going to show up every single day of the year, right?…”
That’s the spirit – because nobody beats Alex de Minaur 13 times in a row, right?
Oh yes, and just for the record, after the never-say-die Gerulaitis did down Connors, he won their next four matches too.
JANNIK SINNER’S PERFECT 12-0 RECORD AGAINST ALEX DE MINAUR:
2025: Vienna Open (semi) (indoor hard court, Vienna) 6-3 6-4
2025: Beijing Open (semi) (outdoor hard court, Beijing) 6-3 4-6 6-2
2025: Australian Open (quarters) (outdoor hard, Melbourne) 6-3 6-2 6-1
2024: Davis Cup semi-final (indoor hard, Malaga) 6-3 6-4
2024: ATP Finals (round-robin) (indoor hard, Turin) 6-3 6-4
2024: Rotterdam Open (final) (indoor hard, Rotterdam) 7-5 6-4
2023: Davis Cup final (indoor hard, Malaga) 6-3 6-0
2023: Canadian Open (final) (outdoor hard, Toronto) 6-4 6-1
2023: Madrid Open (last-32) (outdoor clay, Madrid) 6-4 6-1
2022: Australian Open (last-16) (outdoor hard, Melbourne) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4
2020: Sofia Open (quarters) (indoor hard, Sofia) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-1
2019: NextGen Finals (final) (indoor hard, Milan) 4-2 4-1 4-2
