Seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy recorded five aces and posted a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Alex de Minaur on Sunday to win the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Sinner, 21, had 14 winners and overcame 16 unforced errors and three double faults while winning his second title of this year and the eighth of his career. Sinner also won in Montpellier, France in February.
It also represents the first ATP Masters 1000 crown of Sinner’s career.
“It means a lot,” Sinner said afterward. “It is a great result. One I can share with all the people who are close to me every day. It is a nice moment to share with them and we are doing the right things. This result makes us feel good, stronger and hungry to work even harder in the future.”
Sinner and de Minaur were tied at 4 in the opening set before the Australian was no longer able to keep pace. Sinner won the final two games of the set and sailed through the second set to prevail in 90 minutes.
Sinner is 5-0 all-time against de Minaur.
The 24-year-old de Minaur converted just 46.4 percent of his first-serve points and had just three winners. He also had just four unforced errors.
He was seeking his eighth career title. But de Minaur could hold his head high as his string of victories during the week included takedowns of No. 11 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz and second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
“It was a breakthrough week for me,” de Minaur said. “I had a nice week here in Toronto. I played some great tennis and it gave me a taste of it. My maiden (Masters 1000) final and I will be back.”
Sinner is the youngest champion at this event since Germany’s Alexander Zverev won at age 20 in 2017.
“How I handled the situation (was great). Every opponent here is tough to play against,” Sinner said. “I felt the pressure, but I think I handled it very well. Trying to play point after point. Treating everyone with respect on the court, so I am happy with how I handled the situation.”
Western & Southern Open
Tenth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe received a tough test from Tallon Griekspoor before finishing off a 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4 victory in the first round at Mason, Ohio.
Tiafoe had 11 aces while overcoming seven double faults at the Cincinnati-area tournament. Griekspoor, from the Netherlands, had 16 aces and committed eight double faults.
Ben Shelton also advanced as he defeated fellow American Christopher Eubanks 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Shelton had a 9-8 edge in aces.
Adrian Mannarino cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Richard Gasquet in all-French affair, while Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka prevailed 6-4, 7-5 over Gregoire Barrere of France.
–Field Level Media
