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Alex de Minaur's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking three-set loss to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to remain in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another high-stakes near miss with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain how many times I can handle a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just can't. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

Describing his feelings as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's streak of devastating defeats include:

• Latest 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Wasted two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Defeated in a third-set tiebreaker to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semi-finals

"I continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "Whenever the result's not there, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I must get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American won their meeting in this showpiece event last year.

The Australian's chances remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

The world No 2's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a negative role in the match. I will think about my objectives, about performing much better than today."