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Alex de Minaur's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking three-set loss 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, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the event and now forcing the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes he must address the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his anguish 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 deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just can't. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where mentally 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 Setbacks

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

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested 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 commented. "When 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 quickly rather than delayed."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American 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 guaranteed the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

The second-ranked player's victory, having already knocked over 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 last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent 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."