The first Toronto semifinal is a compelling encounter between entertaining Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and ultra-fit Aussie Alex de Minaur. Both players are unseeded at this Masters 1000 tournament.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is currently enjoying his best tournament of the 2023 season. The world No. 37 posted a couple of impressive upset wins this week en route to the semis. He completely dismantled Alexander Zverev in the second round and then gutted out a thriller against world No. 5 Casper Ruud in the third. He had no difficulty in his quarterfinal contest with American Mackenzie McDonald.
If anything, Alex de Minaur’s path to the semis was even more impressive than that of his opponent. The 24-year-old has taken out three seeded players already this week: Cam Norrie, Taylor Fritz and a stunning quarterfinal win over Daniil Medvedev.
Davidovich Fokina holds a slim 2-1 career edge over De Minaur on the main tour, but the Aussie won their only hard-court match in round-robin play at the 2019 NextGen ATP Finals. The gritty surface in Toronto is a slight advantage for de Minaur, who likes slower hard courts. Davidovich Fokina also spent a long time on court against Ruud, so fatigue could be a factor against a player as physical as De Minaur.
This one has the makings of a thriller. Look for an entertaining three-setter with the world No. 18 pulling out a win.
Cheryl pick: De Minaur in 3
Ricky pick: De Minaur in 3
WWW?
ADF in 3
Tough match.