Alex de Minaur makes more history amid shock Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev drama

Alex de Minaur has advanced to the first Masters 1000 final of his career after beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets at the Canadian Open. The Aussie broke the Spaniard's serve on his first opportunity and kept the pressure on throughout the 77-minute match, prevailing 6-1 6-3.

Fresh off an upset win over second seed and former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev on Friday, De Minaur delivered a simple gameplan in tricky conditions on Saturday. "First thing I knew once I stepped out on court it wasn't going to be pretty so I didn't expect perfect tennis from my side of the court today," said the Aussie.

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"I just told myself to stay positive, keep competing no matter what and you never know what's going to happen. So I thought I had a great mindset today ... didn't play the best of tennis but I did what needed to be done today in these conditions."

The draw opened up in a big way on Friday following a shock loss for World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz. De Minaur had earlier pulled off an incredible comeback victory to beat World No.3 Daniil Medvedev, just 24 hours after beating World No.9 Taylor Fritz.

The Aussie stormed back from 2-5 down in the first set against Medvedev to win 7-6 (9-7) 7-5. It marked de Minaur's sixth win over a top-10 opponent this year and the first time he's ever reached the final four of an ATP 1000 event. Before this year, the 24-year-old was 7-30 against top-10 opponents.

The draw was then blown apart even more when World No.1 Alcaraz went down to Tommy Paul 3-6 6-4 3-6. Paul's win ended Alcaraz's 14-match winning streak, which included his triumph at Wimbledon, and opens up a huge chance for De Minaur to win his first Masters 1000 title.

Speaking after his win over Medvedev, the Aussie said: "I had to play my best tennis. It's been a great week for me so far.

"Beating him last year gave me the confidence for this match. It's always a complete chess match between us, we're both adaptable and can play many styles of tennis. He brings out the best in me. The way I played today was the best style of tennis that I could produce."

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He will now play Italian seventh seed Jannik Sinner in the final after the Italian registered a 6-4 6-4 win over Paul. De Minaur, who also defeated Cameron Norrie earlier this week, has now notched four victories over top-five opponents throughout his career.

He will continue his quest for an eighth ATP title and the biggest of his career in Sunday's final. De Minaur won his seventh title in Acapulco earlier this year. The World No.18 is set to rise to at least 14th in the rankings next week (which would be a career best), but could wind up on the cusp of the top 10 if he wins the title.

De Minaur has been in red-hot form during the North American hard-court swing and made the final at the Los Cabos Open last week. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, but his form leading into the US Open will be a massive boost for an Aussie contingent missing Nick Kyrgios.

Last year's Wimbledon finalist announced that he won't be playing the US Open as he continues to battle injuries. He has only played one match at ATP level this year and will miss all four grand slams.

Medvedev was cruelled by double-faults at inopportune times on Friday, including one while down match point. They proved the Russian's undoing on multiple occasions.

The World No.3 served for the first set at 5-3 but double-faulted on double-break point and de Minaur followed with a hold to pull even. In the tie-breaker, Medvedev jumped out to an early lead and raised his fist skyward after winning a long rally for a 5-1 lead.

But de Minaur chipped away and saved three set points - including one on another double-fault - before taking an 8-7 lead. The Australian then converted on his first opportunity when a Medvedev shot sailed long.

In the second set, Medvedev was up 4-3 when he once again double-faulted on break point. A double-fault on match point - his seventh overall - sealed de Minaur's victory in two hours and three minutes. Tennis fans were full of praise for de Minaur's comeback, while also highly critical of Medvedev's serving struggles.

with agencies

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