By Marc McGowan
Alex de Minaur has become the first Australian man to reach the Canadian Open final since Pat Rafter more than two decades ago – and even more history beckons.
The 24-year-old’s 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in gusty conditions in Toronto means he is one victory away from ending Australia’s Masters 1000 title drought.
Alex de Minaur’s straight-sets thumping of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina advanced him to the Canadian Open final.Credit: USA TODAY Sports
It is de Minaur’s second straight final and fourth for the year, after advancing to last week’s ATP 250 decider in Los Cabos, Mexico, before losing to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. But his Canadian run is of far greater significance.
Not since Lleyton Hewitt at Indian Wells in 2003 has an Australian won a Masters 1000 tournament – the highest level of competition outside the grand slams – but de Minaur has the chance to do exactly that.
The guttural roar he let out after dispatching Davidovich Fokina demonstrated how much the moment meant to him, ahead of a clash with Italian star Jannik Sinner, who claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over American Tommy Paul. Paul earlier ousted world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz.
De Minaur had never been beyond the last 16 at any Masters 1000 event before Toronto, but told this masthead after his semi-final triumph that it was “about time” he made it this far at a major tournament.
Davidovich Fokina had no answer for de Minaur in their Toronto semi-final.Credit: USA TODAY Sports
“It feels amazing, and it’s the breakthrough I’ve been hoping for, for a while,” de Minaur said.
“In saying that, it’s not over yet – I get another chance tomorrow [Monday], and I’m really excited about it, so I’ll go out there and enjoy myself, and hopefully bring out the tennis I’ve been playing for the whole week.
“It’s always been my goal to go deep in these tournaments, and I keep giving myself chances by making the fourth round or quarters, where I’m playing the best in the world, then I go into those matches believing I have a genuine, 50-50 chance of beating these top guys.”
Hewitt sent his congratulations to de Minaur post-match. But de Minaur – whose playing style and determination are so often compared to the former world No.1 – was unaware Hewitt was the last Australian to lift a Masters 1000 trophy.
“Hopefully, there can be a new name tomorrow,” de Minaur said.
De Minaur, who makes no secret of his ambition to gatecrash the top 10, is guaranteed to rise to a career-high ATP ranking of No.12 after a breakthrough week that already includes upset defeats of Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev.
De Minaur is into the Canadian Open final.Credit: Reuters
Those victories improved de Minaur’s record against top-10 opposition to 6-4 this season, after going 7-30 against them in the previous six years. He credited his first win over Medvedev in Paris in November for spurring him on to a career-best season, including capturing his maiden ATP 500 title in Acapulco in March.
Even for someone famous for his mental strength, de Minaur said that Medvedev result last year was important for him after previously being 0-18 against top-five players.
“It’s extremely satisfying [to beat the world’s best], and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said.
“It all started at the end of last year, when I finally was able to get my first top-five scalp in Medvedev in Paris, and from then, it opened a lot of doors and possibilities, and gave me belief that I could do this.
“It means I’m doing the right things, and getting closer to what I’ve always been trying to accomplish. I’ve been there in these situations where I win a lot of matches throughout the year, but when it comes to the bigger tournaments – I haven’t been able to perform the way I wanted to.”
De Minaur has lost all four of his previous match-ups against world No.8 Sinner.
“Sinner is an extremely good ball-striker. He hits the ball super hard, super strong, and is very dangerous in any part of the court,” de Minaur said.
“It’s going to be an interesting one. I’ll have to bring a lot of variety, and make him as uncomfortable as possible and try to break his rhythm.
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