🔗 Share this article

Alex de Minaur's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals semi-finals are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking 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 being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now leaving the Australian needing to convincingly beat 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 admits he must confront the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss 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 issues because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's destroying me."

Characterizing his emotions as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

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
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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 continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "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 need to get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

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

The Australian's chances remain alive after Fritz suffered 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 knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing the season-ending 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 unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend 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 anxiety play a negative role in the match. I will think about my goals, about performing much better than today."