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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 Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss in Turin

The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now leaving the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after experiencing yet another high-stakes near miss with his finals destiny 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 just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues 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 contests, I must win 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 mentally it's destroying me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a series of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

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

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Semi-final 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 keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "When the result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

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

Forthcoming Test

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 Australian's chances remain flickering after Fritz suffered 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

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.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim 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 will try not to focus on it," said Alcaraz. "It's going to be a extremely important 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."