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Alex de Minaur's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to 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 remain in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydney native concedes 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 unable to disguise 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 just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's destroying me."

Describing his feelings as "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Setbacks

The Australia No 1's run 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 defeat 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 commented. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution 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 5-5 in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American won their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain alive after Fritz experienced 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Even if he is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to retain his ATP Finals title.

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