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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 three-set loss 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 remain in the event and now forcing the Australian requiring to decisively defeat 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 immediate concerns as the Sydney native admits he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss with his tournament fate in his own hands.

"I'm uncertain how many times I can handle a loss like this one," de Minaur stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just can't. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

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

Recent Setbacks

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
• Lost in a third-set tiebreaker to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semi-finals

"I continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "Whenever the result's not there, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"This is an issue that if it doesn't get sorted, 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 past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American won their meeting in this showpiece event last year.

The Australian's hopes remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 loss 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 knocked over 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 regain 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 will try not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be 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 performing much better than today."