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

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 went down 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 requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes he must confront the psychological barriers 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 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 said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these issues because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if 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 emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a series of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

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

• 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
• Final four 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 commented. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain alive after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would advance to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

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

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about performing much better than today."