🔗 Share this article

Alex de Minaur's aspirations of reaching the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching 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, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now leaving the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes 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 unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away 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 stated in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I really want to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just must not. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's destroying me."

Describing his feelings 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 Setbacks

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

• Latest 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 commented. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to consume me completely. I need to get it sorted quickly rather than delayed."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

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

Tournament Implications

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

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, 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 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 think about my objectives, about feeling much better than today."