🔗 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 advancing to the ATP Finals last four are dangling by a slender margin after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti. Crushing Defeat in Turin The seventh-ranked player succumbed 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, allowing the Italian to remain in the tournament and now forcing 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 confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydney native concedes he must address 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 couldn't hide his anguish 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 must talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are challenges that can't keep happening." Career Crossroads "I mean, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I can't lose them. I just must not. It feels like I've been defeated in a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where mentally it's killing me." Describing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a series of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must find a way to win the tight encounters. Recent Setbacks The top-ranked Australian's run of crushing losses comprise: Recent 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters Tightly-fought 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 Lost 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." 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 sooner rather than later." Upcoming Challenge De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup 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 guaranteed the Spaniard would progress to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group. Championship Consequences The world No 2's win, having already defeated de Minaur, put Alcaraz within one win of securing 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 beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to defend his ATP Finals title. "I'll attempt not to think about it," said Alcaraz. "This will represent a really big match for me. I will try not to let the anxiety play a bad time in the match. I will concentrate on my goals, about feeling much better than today."