Sinner, de Minaur vie for Toronto title

Sinner and Alex de Minaur dominated both opponents in straight sets on Saturday to reach the final of the ATP Toronto Masters. Sinner, the runner-up in Miami last spring, reached his second final of the season at the elite level with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of the American Tommy Paul. De Minaur brought an Australian into the Canadian final for the first time since 2001 when he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-3. Patrick Rafter was the last Australian to lift the trophy in 1998.

De Minaur maintained his hard court form last weekend in Los Cabos where he finished second to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Sinner, making his fourth career Masters semifinal, took the opening set in 53 minutes and won a 46-shot rally to take a 5-2 lead into the second set. Sinner was broken while serving for the win, but later recovered a game to win on her third match point. “He played this match well,” said the winner. “That’s why I play – the big games.

“I know the feeling of the Masters 1000 final. Hopefully I can show my best tennis tomorrow. “I’m happy with the way I reacted to the situations on the court. I’m happy to be in the final again. There’s a lot of pressure, that’s positive.” Sinner leads 4-0 in previous meetings with de Minaur – his doubles partner this week.

World No. 18 De Minaur is bidding for his eighth career trophy and second this season after winning a wind-swept semi-final against Davidovich Fokina that featured service breaks. The Australian, who knocked out second seed Daniil Medvejev in the quarter-finals, said the victory could not have been more difficult. “It was a very difficult day, playing tennis in difficult conditions, with a lot of wind,” he said. “From the first moment I told myself to stay positive and not expect perfect tennis.” “It was a very difficult day, playing tennis in difficult conditions, with a lot of wind,” he said. “From the first moment I told myself to stay positive and not expect perfect tennis.”

Published in EDP BLOGS on Aug 13,2023.