🔗 Share this article

The Australian tennis star's aspirations of reaching the ATP Finals semi-finals are dangling by a slender margin after a heartbreaking defeat in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti.

Crushing Defeat in Turin

The world No 7 succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the tournament 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 facing Fritz in 48 hours is the least of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydney native admits he must address the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A loser of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after experiencing yet another high-stakes near miss with his tournament fate 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 just have to talk to my team and try to sort out these problems 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 contests, I must win them. I just must not. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. Most importantly, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me."

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

Recent Disappointments

The top-ranked Australian's streak of crushing losses include:

• Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Tightly-fought 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
• Defeated 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 outcome isn't positive, it's difficult 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 quickly rather than delayed."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup in this showpiece event last year.

The Aussie's chances 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 winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Tournament Implications

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

Regardless if he is defeated by Musetti in his last round-robin contest, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes unbeaten to defend his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to think about it," commented Alcaraz. "This will represent a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will concentrate on my objectives, about performing much better than today."