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Alex de Minaur's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to remain in the tournament and now leaving the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But facing 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 threaten to cruel his career.

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

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing 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 tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's streak of crushing losses include:

• 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
• 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. "When the result's not there, 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 must get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Australian's chances remain flickering after Fritz suffered 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.

Tournament Implications

The world No 2's victory, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing the year-end 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 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 extremely important 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 feeling much better than today."