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

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for 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 admits he must confront the mental demons that threaten to cruel 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 crucial opportunity slipping away with his tournament fate in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain 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 resolve these problems because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's killing me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's streak of devastating defeats comprise:

• Latest 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
• 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 keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

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

Upcoming Challenge

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

The Aussie's chances remain alive after Fritz suffered 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 world No 2's win, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated 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. "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 think about my objectives, about feeling much better than today."