Jannik Sinner
had no difficulties defeating
Alex De Minaur and clinching biggest title of his
career at the National Bank Toronto Open with a score of 6-4, 6-1.
The Italian
tennis player finally put an end to a challenging streak of the past two years,
consistently reaching the final stages of major tournaments but falling short
of capturing the big titles.
This year,
he had made it to the semifinals at Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo, and Wimbledon,
as well as the final of the Miami Open. However, he had only secured one title
earlier in the year at the ATP 250 Montpellier Open in February.
Facing him
was Alex De Minaur, a surprise finalist who had defeated Daniil Medvedev,
Taylor Fritz, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on his way to the final.
The
start was hesitant for both players; Sinner grabbed an early break in the
second game, which De Minaur promptly countered in the next. A similar pattern
emerged when Sinner went up 4-2, yet De Minaur managed to break back once
again.
With the
score at 5-4 and De Minaur serving, Sinner secured a decisive break to take the
first set.
The second
set witnessed Sinner's absolute dominance, as De Minaur struggled to counter
his opponent's aggression. After both players held their service games to reach
a 1-1 score, Sinner stepped up his game and won five consecutive games,
including two more breaks, ultimately securing the final with a score of 6-4,
6-1.
Sinner
exhibited a much higher level of aggression, tallying 14 winners compared to De
Minaur's 3. However, he also committed more unforced errors with 16, while De
Minaur only had 4.
With this
outcome, Sinner guaranteed his rise to world No. 6 in the rankings starting
Monday, entering his next tournaments—the Cincinnati Open and the US Open—with
utmost confidence, as he is considered one of the top contenders in both
events.
In
Cincinnati, he will play on Wednesday against the winner of the match between
Francisco Cerundolo and Dusan Lajovic.
On De
Minaur's side, despite the defeat in the final, he will achieve a career-best
ranking of world No. 12 on Monday. The 24-year-old tennis player is set to make
his debut in the Cincinnati Open tomorrow, facing Jeffrey John Wolf.
