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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat 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 remain in the tournament and now leaving the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider concedes he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his anguish after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away 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 must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"I mean, if I really want to be genuine 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. Most importantly, it's getting to a point where mentally it's killing me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a series of third-set slip-ups 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) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought US Open quarter-final loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Squandered two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Lost 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 result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution 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."

Forthcoming Test

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

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

Championship Consequences

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

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

"I will try not to focus on 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 think about my objectives, about performing much better than today."