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Alex de Minaur's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals semi-finals are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The seventh-ranked player succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to remain in the tournament and now forcing the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydney native concedes 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 26-year-old was couldn't hide 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 deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur stated in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"I mean, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where mentally it's destroying me."

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

Recent Disappointments

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
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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 keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

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

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in past meetings, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain alive after Fritz suffered a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that guaranteed the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

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

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt 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 concentrate on my goals, about feeling much better than today."