🔗 Share this article

Alex de Minaur's aspirations of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the tournament and now forcing 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 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider concedes he must confront the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide 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 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 problems because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"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 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 killing me."

Characterizing his emotions 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 Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's streak of devastating defeats include:

• 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
• 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 said. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something 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 sixth-ranked American emerged victorious in their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's hopes remain flickering after Fritz suffered 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.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, 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 final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on 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 concentrate on my goals, about feeling much better than today."