Italian Janik Sinner won his first career Masters 1000 tournament, defeating Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Sunday.
Sinner said, “We were prepared for a long fight.” The first round was really important. In the second, I hit the ball with a little more freedom.
Seventh seed Sinner broke her opponent’s serve to take the first set.
The 21-year-old continued to press the Australian’s serve in the second set as the game ended in 89 minutes.
It was the second ATP Tour title this season for Sinner, who improved to 5–0 against de Minaur.
“It’s tough to play against every opponent,” Sinner said. I felt the pressure, but I think I handled it well.
De Minaur is ranked 18th in the world and was not seeded into the tournament.
De Minaur said, “It was a success for me this week.” I’ve had a great week here in Toronto. I played good tennis. It was my first major final and I will be back.
“At one point it was at a level where he had a little more control of the game. I was a little more defensive.”
Cinner was the first Italian in the modern era to reach the men’s final of this tournament. He will reach a new personal career high on Monday with a world ranking of sixth.
By capturing the title, Sinner earned US$1.02 million of the tournament’s total of $7.62 million. For his part, De Minaur received $557,000.
Earlier on Sunday, Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Roger won the doubles title. They defeated third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6–3, 6–1.