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

Crushing Defeat 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 stay alive in the event and now leaving the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Psychological Challenges Threaten Career

But confronting Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes 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 26-year-old was couldn't hide 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 really want to be serious 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 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 "very bleak", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Setbacks

The Australia No 1's streak 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
• 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 continue investing everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "Whenever the result's not there, it's hard to keep pushing through."

Immediate Solution 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 sixth-ranked American won their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's hopes remain alive after Fritz suffered 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.

Tournament Implications

The world No 2's victory, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of claiming the season-ending top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Even 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 retain his ATP Finals title.

"I will try not to focus on it," commented Alcaraz. "It's going to be a really big 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 feeling much better than today."