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

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach 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 admits he must confront 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 suffering 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 stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I truly desire to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's destroying me."

Characterizing his emotions as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's streak of devastating defeats comprise:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought 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
• Defeated in a third-set tiebreaker to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semi-finals

"I continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep pushing through."

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 sooner rather than later."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American won their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

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

Tournament Implications

The second-ranked player's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of securing the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

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

"I'll attempt 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 nerves play a negative role in the match. I will think about my objectives, about feeling much better than today."