There was no drama whatsoever in the two National Bank Open semifinal matches on Saturday.
Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur made sure of that.
Following De Minaur’s 6-1, 6-3 destruction of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina during the afternoon session, Sinner made quick 6-4, 6-4 work of Tommy Paul. Thus it will be Sinner vs. De Minaur in a surprising Toronto Masters championship match on Sunday. The eighth-ranked Italian is bidding for his first Masters 1000 title and so is the unseeded Australian, who is playing in his first Masters final. This is Sinner’s third such final, having previously finished runner-up in Miami on two occasions.
“It feels great,” De Minaur assured. “It feels like all the hard work, all the hours on the court, off the court, they’re paying off. It’s good to see those results. Because a lot of times you put in all this effort and hard work and the results just don’t come, right? So it’s always a huge boost of confidence when you’re able to go on these deep runs. But, you know, the job is not done. Keep on going.
“Jannik is one of the better ball strikers on tour. His ball speed is up there with the [highest] from both sides. And he can definitely pound the ball.”
Sinner is 4-0 lifetime against De Minaur and 10-1 in total sets. The only set lost by the 21-year-old in their first four meetings came in a tiebreaker on the indoor hard courts of Sofia in 2020.
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