Australian Jordan Thompson has suffered the double agony of a narrow defeat in the biggest semi-final of his career being compounded by a back injury in his battling Queen's Club Championship loss to Lorenzo Musetti.
Thompson, playing the first semi-final of an ATP 500 event in his 11-year career, put up a familiarly doughty fight to forge back after losing the first set on Saturday but eventually succumbed 6-3 3-6 6-3 to the graceful Italian, who'd also kayoed Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur earlier in the week.
Worse still, Thompson's big day ended with him having to leave Queen's to get treated for the back injury that he suffered early in the second set.
The Australian No.2 had planned to fly off to Mallorca after the London event to play in a final warm-up tournament before Wimbledon.
But with the extent of his injury problem yet to be determined, he was left admitting ruefully when asked if he would still be playing in Spain: "Probably 99 per cent no. I'll get ready for Wimbledon and get healthy."
The 30-year-old Sydneysider had been hoping to emulate de Minaur, who reached the final of grasscourt tennis's second biggest event last year, but the back ailment did not help as he needed constant treatment throughout Saturday's match.
The problem, which flared up when he stooped low for a shot early in the second set, still didn't stop him playing a brilliant attacking set, rushing 22-year-old Musetti out of his elegant comfort zone to level the match.
Thompson had a medical timeout at 3-0 up in which he lay at courtside while receiving treatment to his back and hip, with the physio also being called on at subsequent changeovers.
"It was a tough match. Lorenzo had a great start, jumped me straight away, broke my first service game so I felt like I was behind the whole first set," said Thompson, who'll rise to No.39 in the world next week.
"I started the second set really well and got into a 5-0 lead and the third could have gone either way, but he played a great game when I was serving at 3-4 and I couldn't fight him off."
Three times, Thompson repelled break points in that key game before, at the fourth time of asking, his deft drop volley at the net drifted wide of the tramline by a mere millimetre to hand the Italian the crucial breakthrough.
A dumbfounded Thompson never really recovered as Musetti served out to love before collapsing in delight.
Saluting Thompson for playing at an "amazing level", Musetti declared: "I love this sport, I'm really passionate about it and since I was a kid I dreamt to be number one in the world."
His compatriot, Jannik Sinner, the current holder of that accolade, may have to watch out.
In the final, Musetti will meet American Tommy Paul, who prevailed 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in the all-US battle with Sebastian Korda, who, like Thompson, had his own injury battles after a nasty fall on the baseline towards the end of the first set, having to get his ankle heavily strapped at the changeover.
Korda recovered to make a fight of it in the second set but world No.13 Paul became the first US player to reach the Queen's final since Sam Querrey beat another American Mardy Fish in 2010.
