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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 defeat in three sets to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

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

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another high-stakes near miss with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain how many times I can handle a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I really want 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 lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's destroying me."

Characterizing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's run of crushing losses include:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought US Open quarter-final loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Wasted 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 said. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

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

Tournament Implications

The second-ranked player's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming the season-ending 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 undefeated to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to think about it," said Alcaraz. "It's going to be 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 feeling much better than today."