🔗 Share this article {'Mentally it's killing me': De Minaur on brink of ATP Finals exit after third-set collapse The Australian tennis star's hopes of reaching 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 seventh-ranked player succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to stay alive in the tournament and now forcing the Australian requiring to convincingly beat Taylor Fritz in his last group match to reach the semi-finals. Psychological Challenges Threaten Career But facing Fritz in 48 hours is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the psychological barriers that threaten to cruel his career. A loser 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 crucial opportunity slipping away 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 stated in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these problems because these are issues that can't keep happening." Professional Turning Point "Essentially, if I truly desire to be genuine about advancing to the next level in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just can't. It seems as if I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where psychologically it's destroying me." Describing his emotions as "quite dark", 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 top-ranked Australian's run of devastating defeats 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 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 hard to keep pushing through." Urgent Resolution Needed "It's something that if it isn't resolved, it's going to eat me alive. 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 American world No 6 won their meeting in this prestigious tournament last year. The Australian's chances remain alive 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 victor of the Jimmy Connors group. Tournament Implications The second-ranked player's victory, 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 final group match, Alcaraz will regain the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes undefeated to retain his ATP Finals title. "I will try not to focus on it," said 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 think about my goals, about performing much better than today."