One Year On, Sinner Earns Second De Minaur Victory

One year on from his final victory against Alex de Minaur at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Jannik Sinner earned another memorable win against the Aussie on Thursday at the Sofia Open.

The #NextGenATP Italian rallied from a set down to overcome De Minaur 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and 11 minutes. Sinner won 80 per cent of his first-serve points (43/54) and held his nerve under pressure, as he saved six of the seven break points he faced.

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Sinner, who owns a 17-11 record in 2020, is through to his second ATP Tour semi-final of the year. The bett1HULKS Championship semi-finalist is aiming to reach his first ATP Tour championship match this week.

After dropping the first set in a tie-break, Sinner earned an unlikely break at 3-3 to turn the match in his favour. De Minaur raced into a 40/0 lead on serve, but Sinner played with aggression on his forehand to overpower his opponent.

After saving break points to close the second set, Sinner charged to victory in the decider. The Italian stepped in on short balls and ripped winners to open a 5-1 lead. De Minaur began to commit errors as he attempted to shorten points and Sinner moved through to the semi-finals when De Minaur fired a forehand beyond the baseline.

Sinner will face Adrian Mannarino for a place in the championship match. The Frenchman reached his second semi-final in three weeks with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory against Radu Albot.

The Nur-Sultan runner-up landed seven aces and broke serve on three occasions to reach his first semi-final in Sofia. Since arriving at the bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne last month, Mannarino has won 10 of his 13 matches.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/36wNdNF