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The Australian tennis star's hopes of advancing to the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to Italian opponent 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, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes he must address the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career.

A loser of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the 26-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 handle a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I must 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 matches, I can't lose them. I just must not. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where psychologically it's killing me."

Characterizing his feelings as "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters.

Recent Setbacks

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

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final defeat 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. "Whenever the outcome isn't positive, it's hard 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."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in past meetings, though the American world No 6 won their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Australian's hopes 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The second-ranked player's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking unless Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I will try 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 bad time in the match. I will concentrate on my goals, about performing much better than today."