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Alex de Minaur's aspirations of reaching 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 failing to serve 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 confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider concedes he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after suffering yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I really want to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I must win them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

Describing his emotions as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

The top-ranked Australian's run of crushing losses include:

• Latest 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

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

Championship Consequences

The second-ranked player's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Even if he loses to Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes undefeated to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to focus on it," said 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 goals, about performing much better than today."