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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to Italian opponent 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, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the event and now forcing the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final 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 Sydneysider admits he must address the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing 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 stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

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

Recent Setbacks

The Australia No 1's run of crushing losses comprise:

• Latest 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
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Wasted two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Defeated 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 difficult to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, 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 previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American emerged victorious in their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

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

Championship Consequences

The second-ranked player's victory, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try 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 concentrate on my objectives, about feeling much better than today."