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The Australian tennis star's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a heartbreaking defeat in three sets to 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 requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydney native admits he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser 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 finals destiny 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 just have to talk to my team and try to resolve these issues 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 contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. 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 "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

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

• Latest 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result 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
• 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. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, 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 past meetings, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's chances remain alive 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The second-ranked player's victory, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the season-ending 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 opener on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to think about it," said 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 goals, about feeling much better than today."