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The Australian tennis star's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking defeat in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the event and now leaving the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last 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 address the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel 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 suffering yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain how many times I can handle 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 challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I really want to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these contests, 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 mentally it's destroying me."

Describing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Setbacks

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

• 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
• Semi-final 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 said. "When the result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I must 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 emerged victorious in their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Australian's hopes remain flickering 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.

Championship Consequences

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

Even if he is defeated by Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be 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 goals, about feeling much better than today."