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Alex de Minaur's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking defeat in three sets to Italian opponent 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, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final 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 Sydney native concedes he must address the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after suffering yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his tournament fate 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 issues that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

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

Recent Setbacks

The top-ranked Australian's run of devastating defeats include:

• Latest 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
• 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 said. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep pushing through."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the American world No 6 won their meeting 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 ensured the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The second-ranked player's win, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Even if he is defeated by 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 unbeaten to defend 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 objectives, about performing much better than today."