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Alex de Minaur's aspirations of reaching the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching 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 failing to serve out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now forcing the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native admits he must address the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A loser 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 finals destiny in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can handle 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 cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just can't. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

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

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome 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. "Whenever the result's not there, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, it's going to eat me alive. I must 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 Aussie's hopes remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 loss to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would progress 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 a single victory away 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 beat Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to focus on it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will concentrate on my goals, about performing much better than today."