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

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now forcing the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final 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 Sydney native admits he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was couldn't hide his anguish after experiencing 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 said in Turin. "I just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are issues that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I truly desire to be genuine 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. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

Describing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a series of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way 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) outcome 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 continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution Needed

"This is an issue that if it isn't resolved, it's going to eat me alive. I need to get it sorted quickly rather than delayed."

Upcoming Challenge

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in past meetings, though the sixth-ranked American won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's chances remain flickering after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 loss to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming 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 undefeated 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 concentrate on my goals, about feeling much better than today."