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Alex de Minaur's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 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 needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

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

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain how many times I can deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I must win them. I just can't. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

Characterizing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

The top-ranked Australian's run of crushing losses comprise:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought US Open quarter-final loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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 outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, 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 matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz experienced 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 second-ranked player's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about 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 think about my goals, about feeling much better than today."