🔗 Share this article {'Mentally it's killing me': Alex de Minaur on verge of ATP Finals elimination after final set collapse The Australian tennis star's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking three-set loss to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti. Crushing Defeat in Turin The world No 7 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 requiring to convincingly beat 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 least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must address the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career. A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his anguish after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss with his finals destiny in his own hands. "I'm uncertain 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 really want to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just must not. It seems as if I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's killing me." Describing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches. Recent Setbacks The top-ranked Australian's run 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 Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti Squandered 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. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep persevering." Urgent Resolution Needed "This is an issue that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted quickly rather than delayed." Upcoming Challenge De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year. The Aussie's chances 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. Championship Consequences The second-ranked player's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming 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 unless Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title. "I'll attempt not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about feeling much better than today."