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The Australian tennis star's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread 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 failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now leaving the Australian requiring 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 two days' time is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the mental demons that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his major tournament quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-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 don't know 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 problems because these are challenges that can't keep happening."

Professional Turning Point

"Essentially, if I truly desire to be serious about advancing to the next level in my career, these matches, I must win them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's destroying me."

Describing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur bemoaned a series of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the close matches.

Recent Setbacks

The top-ranked Australian's streak of devastating defeats include:

• 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 result's not there, it's difficult to keep pushing through."

Urgent Resolution Needed

"It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to consume me completely. I need to 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 chances remain alive after Fritz suffered a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that guaranteed the Spaniard would advance to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2'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 except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent a extremely important match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a negative role in the match. I will concentrate on my objectives, about performing much better than today."