Sinner downs De Minaur again to make Vienna final
No.1 seed Jannik Sinner crushed Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-4 to reach the Vienna Open final for the second time, extending his remarkable streak to 20 consecutive wins on indoor hardcourts, and his head-to-head with the Australian to 12-0.
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The Italian's dominant victory – his 50th over a fellow top-10 player – moved him into his eighth final of the season, where he awaits another former champion in the shape of No.2 seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated the other Italian left in the draw, Lorenzo Musetti, 6-4 7-5.
A Vienna champion in 2023, Sinner came out of the blocks like a man possessed, racing through the opening four games and breaking twice to establish a commanding 4-0 lead in 15 minutes.
No.3 seed De Minaur managed to win only four points during that blistering start before he finally got on the scoreboard by breaking Sinner.
As the crowd roared its appreciation for the underdog, Sinner seemed to take his foot off the gas, briefly opening the door for De Minaur to mount a comeback.
But any hopes of a revival were dashed at 5-3 when the Italian unleashed a searing forehand past De Minaur, who could only bow his head in disappointment at the end of a long rally, before Sinner wrapped up the opening set.
De Minaur showed more fight in the second set as the pair traded breaks, but Sinner's power and precision proved too much as he broke again to lead 4-3, with the 26-year-old Australian having no answer to the world No.2's relentless pressure.
The writing was on the wall when De Minaur sat stone-faced on his chair during a changeover at 5-4 and Sinner duly served to love to clinch the contest as he extended his perfect record to 12-0 over the Australian.
"[I] came here quite late to the tournament, tried to take every day in the best possible way and I'm happy to be here in the final," Sinner said in his post-match interview.
"It was not easy to [reach] the final here, so I'm very happy.
"[I was] trying to play some good tennis, trying to serve very well. The first set was very physical, so I'm happy that I won in two sets today. He changed a couple of things, which I was ready for today.
"I don't want to say [what]. He knows. He knows for sure. He knows what to do, how to put [me] under pressure and the moment when you don't serve very well, you have to play every ball and every point. He can get very physical, he changed up with the slice a bit with also the slice down the line today and opening the court. Many small things he has changed.
"Generally I'm happy how I handled [the match]. I was a break up in the second, broke him back, tried to stay there mentally," Sinner said. "Very happy about today's performance and always happy again to be in the final."













