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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets 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, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydney native admits he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss with his tournament fate 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 just have to talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Professional Turning Point

"I mean, if I really want to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like 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 emotions as "very bleak", 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 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
• Closely-contested 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
• Lost 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 difficult to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I need to 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 matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured 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 defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important 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."