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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the event and now forcing the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes he must address the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his distress 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 said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"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. Most importantly, it's reaching 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 streak of devastating defeats include:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought 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 keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I need to get it sorted quickly rather than delayed."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American emerged victorious in their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Australian's hopes remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that guaranteed the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

The world No 2's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," said 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 objectives, about performing much better than today."