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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 defeat in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament 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 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 can't keep happening."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these matches, I must win them. I just must not. It seems as if I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, 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 discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

The top-ranked Australian's streak of crushing losses comprise:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) outcome 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 commented. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

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 quickly rather than delayed."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz experienced 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.

Tournament Implications

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

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, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent 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 performing much better than today."