TORONTO, Canada: Jannik Sinner came up third time lucky in a Masters 1000 final on Sunday as he won the Toronto title 6-4, 6-1 over Alex de Minaur.
The seventh seed became only the second Italian to lift a trophy in the elite series, following Fabio Fognini, champion at Monte Carlo four years ago.
Sinner lost a pair of Masters finals in Miami in 2021 and last April but could not contain his enthusiasm after storming past his Australian opponent in 90 minutes.
The player who turns 22 on Wednesday improved to 12-0 versus Australians dating to the 2021 US Open.
“I’m getting used to the difficult situations,” the winner said. “Twice in the first set I was up a break up and he broke back.
“But I stayed calm mentally, I was prepared for a long battle.
“I’m happy with how I reacted. In the second set I played better and tried to be more aggressive.
“It was tough today with the wind, I’m happy with my level today,” the Wimbledon semifinalist said. “This makes you feel like you are doing the right thing.”
Sinner will rise to sixth in the world as a result of his Canadian success.
The Italian won his eighth career trophy and improved to a perfect 5-0 over De Minaur.
Sinner tried and failed twice in the opening set to hold onto breaks, only to drop serve in the following game to the Aussie.
But the Italian found form just in time, firing an ace to lead 5-4 and finished off the set in 54 minutes on his first opportunity as on his opponent’s error.
The second set was one-way traffic for Sinner, who closed out victory on his second match point.
Sinner is the youngest Toronto winner since Alexander Zverev, who was 20 in 2017; the Italian now stands 18-4 at the Masters level this season. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
