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The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, allowing the Italian to remain in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to qualify for 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 Sydneysider admits he must address the mental demons that threaten to cruel his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his anguish after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can handle a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, 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 "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's run of crushing losses comprise:

• Latest 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. "When the result's not there, it's difficult to keep persevering."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"It's something 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 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz suffered a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would progress 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 season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Even if he loses to 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 unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to think about it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my objectives, about feeling much better than today."