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

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 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 forcing the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider admits he must address the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor 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 tournament fate in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can handle a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"I mean, if I really want to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just must not. It seems as if 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 feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

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

• Recent 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
• Squandered two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Lost 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 difficult to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

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

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American emerged victorious in their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

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

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to focus on it," said Alcaraz. "It's going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my objectives, about performing much better than today."