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Alex de Minaur's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to 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 needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after experiencing 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 challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, 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 been defeated in a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's run of devastating defeats include:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final loss 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 said. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard to keep pushing through."

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."

Forthcoming Test

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

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz suffered 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 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 securing the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, 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 think about it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about performing much better than today."