The Australian tennis star's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching three-set loss to Italian opponent Lorenzo Musetti.
The seventh-ranked player went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after being unable to close 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 last group match to qualify for the semi-finals.
But confronting Fritz in two days' time is the smallest of de Minaur's immediate concerns as the Sydneysider concedes 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 26-year-old was unable to disguise his anguish after experiencing yet another crucial opportunity slipping away with his finals destiny in his own hands.
"I'm uncertain 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 problems because these are challenges that cannot continue occurring."
"Essentially, if I really want to be serious about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just must not. It seems as if I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's getting to a point where psychologically it's killing me."
Describing his emotions as "very bleak", de Minaur lamented a succession of third-set slip-ups in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.
The Australia No 1's run of devastating defeats include:
"I keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "When the result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."
"It's something that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to consume me completely. I must get it sorted sooner rather than later."
De Minaur and Fritz are tied at five wins each in previous encounters, though the sixth-ranked American 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 defeat to Carlos Alcaraz that ensured the Spaniard would advance to the semi-finals as the victor of the Jimmy Connors group.
The second-ranked player's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of claiming the year-end 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 except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his first match on Monday, goes undefeated to retain his ATP Finals title.
"I will try not to think about 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 think about my objectives, about performing much better than today."
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