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Alex de Minaur's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss 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 leaving 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 confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes he must address the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor 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 said 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 really want to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where psychologically it's destroying me."

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

Recent Disappointments

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

• Latest 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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 commented. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted quickly rather than delayed."

Upcoming Challenge

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

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

Tournament Implications

The world No 2's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of securing the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking unless 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. "This will represent a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a negative role in the match. I will concentrate on my goals, about performing much better than today."