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Alex de Minaur's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching 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 failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes he must confront the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide his distress after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his tournament fate 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 just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I truly desire to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where psychologically it's destroying me."

Describing his feelings 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 Setbacks

The Australia No 1's streak of crushing losses comprise:

• 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
• Final four 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 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 consume me completely. I must get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's hopes 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 victory, having already knocked over 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 regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a negative role in the match. I will concentrate on my objectives, about feeling much better than today."