Sinner, de Minaur vie for Toronto title

Italian beats Paul 6-4, 6-3 in last-four clash; Australian downs Fokina 6-1, 6-3

TORONTO:

Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur both dominated opponents in straight sets on Saturday to reach the final of the ATP Toronto Masters.

Sinner, runner-up last spring in Miami, reached his second final of the season at the elite level with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of American Tommy Paul.

De Minaur put an Australian into a Canadian final for the first time since 2001 with his 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The last Aussie to reach the title match here was Patrick Rafter – who had lifted the 1998 trophy.

De Minaur maintained his hardcourt form from last weekend in Los Cabos, where he finished runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Sinner had to battle in his fourth career Masters semi-final, claiming the opening set in 53 minutes and winning a 46-shot rally to take a 5-2 lead in the second set.

Sinner was broken while serving for victory but recovered a game later for victory on his third match point.

"This was a fight, he was playing great," the winner said. "This is what I play for – the big matches.

"I know the feeling of a Masters 1000 final. Hopefully I can show my best tennis tomorrow.

"I'm happy with how I reacted to situations on the court. I'm happy to be in the final again. The pressure is something great, it's positive."

Sinner leads de Minaur – his doubles partner this week – 4-0 in previous meetings.

World number 18 De Minaur will bid for his eighth career trophy and second this season after winning a wind-swept semi-final over Davidovich Fokina that was littered with service breaks.

The Australian, who knocked out second seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, said winning could not have been more difficult.

"It was a very tough day, tricky conditions for playing tennis with all of the wind," he said.

"From the first point I told myself to stay positive and not expect perfect tennis.”