Alex de Minaur’s hopes of reaching the last four of the ATP Finals are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.
The world number 7 went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, leaving the Italian in the event and the Australian now needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.
But the showdown with Fritz in two days’ time is the least of De Minaur’s immediate worries as the Sydneysider admits he must tackle the mental demons threatening to damage his career.
A loser of all six Grand Slam quarter-finals, the 26-year-old could not disguise his fear after suffering another high-stakes near miss while holding the fate of the final in his own hands.
“I don’t know how many times I can deal with a loss like this,” De Minaur said in Turin. “I just have to talk to my team and try to solve these problems because these are problems that cannot continue to happen.
“I mean, if I’m really serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I can’t lose them. I just can’t. I feel like I’ve lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it gets to the point where it’s killing me mentally.”
De Minaur described his feelings as “pretty dark”, lamenting a succession of missteps in the third set in 2025 and saying he had to find a way to win the tight encounters.
Australia’s number 1’s string of crushing losses includes a recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters, a closely contested US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime and a Monte Carlo semi-final against Musetti.
De Minaur also squandered a two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open, losing in a third-set tiebreak to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semifinals.
“I continue to put everything into these matches,” De Minaur said. “If the result is not there, it is difficult to continue.
“It’s something that, if not resolved, will eat me alive. I need to get it sorted out as quickly as possible.”
De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in previous meetings, although the American world number 6 won their meeting in this showpiece last year.
after newsletter promotion
The Australian’s hopes continue to flicker after Fritz suffered a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, which ensured the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.
The world number 2’s victory, having already toppled De Minaur, brought Alcaraz within one win of securing Jannik Sinner’s season-ending top ranking.
Even if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No. 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, remains undefeated and defends his ATP Finals title.
“I’ll try not to think about it,” Alcaraz said. “It will be a very big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves have a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about the fact that I feel much better than today.”
#Mentally #hurts #Alex #Minaur #verge #exiting #ATP #final #set #collapse