Alex de Minaur faces the tallest of orders on his ATP Finals debut, having to tackle his nemesis Jannik Sinner in front of the Italian's adoring fans on the opening night of the showpiece event in Turin.
De Minaur, the first Australian to compete in the men's tour's end-of-season championship for two decades, has never beaten the world no.1 in seven attempts and can hardly line up in Sunday night's match at the Inalpi Arena with much hope of ending the wretched five-year sequence.
In Thursday's draw, 'Demon' has been placed alongside Sinner, as well as former Finals champion Daniil Medvedev and American Taylor Fritz in the 'Ilie Nastase Group', named after the first ATP world No.1.
