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

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The seventh-ranked player 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 leaving 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 least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-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'm uncertain 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 resolve these problems because these are challenges 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 matches, I must win them. I just can't. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's killing me."

Describing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's streak 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
• Semi-final 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."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I must get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in past meetings, 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 guaranteed the Spaniard would advance to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

The second-ranked player's win, having already knocked over 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 final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a negative role in the match. I will think about my objectives, about feeling much better than today."