TORONTO: Alex de Minaur of Australia beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday in the National Bank Open semifinals.
“I just told myself that no matter what, I was going to compete every point,” de Minaur said. “Stay positive and not get frustrated by how the match may go, and I’m just going to give myself the best chance of staying tough mentally. And I think that’s probably what got me the win.”
De Minaur will face seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of the United States in the night semifinal.
“I’m happy about how I reacted to every situation on the court,” Sinner said. “He played great. He’s a very nice guy. I’m happy to be again in the final and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”
On Friday, de Minaur upset second-seeded Daniil Medvedev. De Minaur won in March in Acapulco for his seventh ATP Tour title — beating Paul in the final.
Sinner also has seven tour titles, winning in February at Montpellier.
Jessica Pegula beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday to reach the National Bank Open final, breaking serve 11 times in a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory.
Pegula, the 29-year-old American seeded fourth, finally broke through in the semifinals after falling in the round the previous two years.
“It was a great match,” Pegula said. “It was tough. Kind of a roller-coaster. Really up and down, but I’m glad I was able to hold my nerve there at the end.”
Pegula beat Swiatek a day after fellow American Tommy Paul knocked off top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s event in Toronto.