Tennis | Sinner beats De Minaur to win Canadian Open title
The Hindu
Jannik Sinner won his first Masters 1000 title, beating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1. He felt his ability to handle pressure-packed situations helped him win. He was the first Italian to win the event.
Italian seventh seed Jannik Sinner secured his first Masters 1000 title with a dominant 6-4 6-1 win over Australian Alex de Minaur in the Canadian Open final on Sunday.
Sinner, appearing in his third Masters 1000 final after runner-up efforts at the Miami Open in 2021 and this year, broke De Minaur five times and saved two of four break points to lift the biggest title of his career.
The 21-year-old Italian, who enjoyed a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals last month, felt his ability to deal with pressure-packed situations helped him to navigate past De Minaur.
"I am getting used to difficult situations. I was a break up a couple times and he broke back but I tried to stay calm mentally. I was prepared for a long battle," Sinner, the first Italian to win the event, said during his on-court interview.
"In the second set I played a little bit better, I raised the level a little but and I tried to stay a little more aggressive ... I am very happy about my level today."
Sinner played well from the start and showed few nerves as he flashed his weapons and took more risks than De Minaur, who struggled to come up with winners.
The two friends, who lost in the first round of the men's doubles earlier this week, twice swapped breaks in a tight opening set before Sinner held and then closed out the frame with a break at love.
Asian Games champion Avinash Sable opened his season in the 3000m steeple chase with a silver in the Portland Track Festival, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Oregon on Saturday. He clocked 8:21.85s. Asian champion Parul Chaudhary took the bronze in the women’s 3000m steeple chase in a season-best 9:31.38s. Former Asian bronze medallist Sanjivani Jadhav struck gold in the women’s 10,000m in 32:22.77s, a time which was a second off her personal best, while Seema was sixth in 32:55.91s.