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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 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, keeping the Italian to remain in the event and now leaving the Australian needing to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must address the psychological barriers 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 unable to disguise 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 just have to talk to my team and try to resolve these issues because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I really want to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, 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 emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

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

• Latest 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
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Squandered two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Defeated in a third-set tiebreaker to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semi-finals

"I keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur said. "When the outcome isn't positive, it's hard to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to eat me alive. 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 emerged victorious in their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Aussie's hopes remain flickering after Fritz suffered 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 winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, having already defeated 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 last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on 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 concentrate on my goals, about performing much better than today."