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The Australian tennis star's aspirations of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking defeat in three sets to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss in Turin

The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the event and now forcing the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for 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 unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was couldn't hide his distress after experiencing 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 sort out these problems because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire 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. More than anything, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

Describing his feelings as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

The Australia No 1's run of devastating defeats comprise:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat 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 pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to eat me alive. I must get it sorted quickly rather than delayed."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Australian's hopes remain alive after Fritz suffered a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 loss to Carlos Alcaraz that guaranteed 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 is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

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