De Minaur Vs Sinner Recap
Alex De Minaur continued his hot form to reach the finals of the Rotterdam Open by taking down both Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov in the quarters and semis. As the five seed at the tournament, finding his way into the final two was in and of itself a solid showing.
Sinner on the other hand was the top seed and the odds on favourite to lift the trophy.
The match began with De Minaur serving, looking to take down Sinner for the first time in his career. He was able to hold fairly comfortably to get the match going.
Sinner then held his own serve to even the match at 1-1. This back and forth would continue for only two more games as tied at two’s, with De Minaur serving, Sinner found the opening break.
Down 40-30, De Minaur tried for a drop shot to end the rally quickly but left it just short as the ball fell into the net, giving Sinner the 3-2 lead.
De Minaur threatened to take the break right back in the next game as he battled his way to deuce but after Sinner gained the advantage, he produced a beautiful passing shot as De Minaur approached the net.
They would then trade holds until Sinner had a chance to serve out the set up 5-4. The game would last a staggering 16 minutes as the pair found themselves at deuce on five occasions. Finally, on his third break attempt, De Minaur sent a forehand down the line which caused Sinner to lose his footing as the Aussie tied the match.
Showing his maturity however, Sinner came right back the next game and broke De Minaur before serving out the set 7-5.
The second set had a similar beginning as the pair again traded holds until 2-2 when Sinner converted a break point. It was a 23 minute long game that included six deuces which would finally end with De Minaur sending a forehand into the net.
De Minaur would get Sinner right back however breaking at 15 to tie the set at threes.
Again, though Sinner showed maturity beyond his years as he calmly put the loss behind him and broke De Minaur right back.
The two then traded holds to give Sinner a chance to serve out the match at 5-4.
He made no mistake, holding handily and finishing out the match with a wide serve that De Minaur was unable to keep in the court for a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
Sinner Goes Back-to-back to Start the Year
The Rotterdam Open was Sinner’s first tournament since winning his first ever slam at the Australian Open and with the victory he now has won both of his tournaments in 2024.
With the win, Sinner jumped to third in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career and at the moment holds the throne as the man to beat given his hot start to the year.
De Minaur moves to ninth in the ATP Rankings
Despite the loss which now gives De Minaur a disappointing 0-7 all-time record against Sinner, the Australian has reached a career high ranking of no.9 thanks to the finals berth.
Given his form, it’s not unreasonable to think he could keep climbing and find a true breakthrough at one of the three remaining Grand Slams.
