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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking three-set loss to 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, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now forcing the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes he must confront the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide 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 handle a loss like this one," de Minaur stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

Describing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

The Australia No 1's streak of devastating defeats comprise:

• Latest 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
• Semi-final in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Wasted 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 said. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution 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 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's hopes remain flickering 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

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

Even 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 retain his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent a really big match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a negative role in the match. I will concentrate on my goals, about feeling much better than today."