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The Australian tennis star's hopes of advancing to 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 seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to stay alive in the event and now leaving the Australian needing to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native concedes he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the 26-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his finals destiny in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to resolve these problems because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."

Career Crossroads

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step 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 getting to a point where mentally it's destroying me."

Characterizing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the tight encounters.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's run of crushing losses comprise:

• Recent 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
• Final four 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 keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard 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 sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American emerged victorious in their matchup in this showpiece event 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 advance to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's victory, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of securing 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 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," said Alcaraz. "It's going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a negative role in the match. I will think about my goals, about feeling much better than today."