Toronto: De Minaur races past Davidovich Fokina to reach first Masters 1000 final

Alex de Minaur made quick work of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters on Saturday. De Minaur will battle either Jannik Sinner or Tommy Paul for the title.

Ricky Dimon

August 12, 2023

National Bank Open presented by Rogers •Semi-final • completed

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A. Davidovich FokinavsA. De Minaur

Alex De Minaur is through to a Masters 1000 final for the first time in his career after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-3 at the National Bank Open on Saturday afternoon. De Minaur broke serve an amazing seven times in eight return games to advance in one hour and 17 minutes.

The Australian will go up against either No 7 seed Jannik Sinner or No 12 seed Tommy Paul in Sunday’s championship match.

Tough conditions, but otherwise easy day for De Minaur

Such a lopsided scoreline could not have been expected given Davidovich Fokina’s form earlier in the tournament. The Spaniard punched his ticket to the semi-finals by beating J.J. Wolf (6-0, 6-2), Alexander Zverev (6-1, 6-2), Casper Ruud (7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4)) and Mackenzie McDonald (6-4, 6-2).

However, Davidovich Fokina’s level fell off in a major way in the semis. The world No 37 failed to handle windy conditions with any success, whereas De Minaur seemed to have no such trouble.

“It was a very tough day; very tricky conditions out here — very windy and not easy to play tennis,” De Minaur noted. “From the first point I just told myself I was going to stay positive, try to win every point, try to be solid and not expect perfect tennis. I think that made the difference today.”

The moment @alexdeminaur advanced to the #NBO23 final! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/UCqUStFvb5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 12, 2023

The world No 18 preceded Saturday’s result with victories over Cameron Norrie (7-5, 6-4), Gabriel Diallo (6-4, 7-5), Taylor Fritz (7-6(7), 4-6, 6-1) and Daniil Medvedev (7-6(7), 7-5).

De Minaur sets sights on more success

If Paul loses to Sinner on Saturday night, De Minaur will reach at least No 12 in the rankings next week. If the 24-year-old captures the title, he will be just 55 points outside of a debut appearance in the top 10 (behind Frances Tiafoe).

“For a couple of years now I’ve been chasing that goal,” De Minaur said of the top 10. “I’ve probably put a lot of stress on myself trying to achieve that, but I’m always going to get the most out of myself. I’m not content where I am, so I’m going to keep on pushing.”