Jannik Sinner is hoping only one thing changes in the ABN AMRO final on Sunday. In last year’s championship match he lost a three-setter against Daniil Medvedev.
Other than that, Sinner can only hope that everything remains the same–most notably his amazing current form and his head-to-head dominance of Alex de Minaur.
Sinner and De Minaur will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers when they battle for the Rotterdam title. It is quite simply one of the most lopsided “rivalries” in tennis at the moment. Sinner has won all six of their previous encounters and is 14-1 in total sets. He has taken 11 sets in a row against De Minaur heading into Sunday. They faced each other twice in 2023, with Sinner rolling 6-4, 6-1 in the Toronto final and 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the Davis Cup title for Italy.
As those results indicate, Sinner ended last season on fire–complete with two victories over Novak Djokovic. The 22-year-old has picked up right where he left off, beating Djokovic again en route to his first Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open. He is now 11-0 to begin 2024 following Rotterdam defeats of Botic van de Zandschulp, Gael Monfils, Milos Raonic, and Tallon Griekspoor.
De Minaur is red hot, as well. The 11th-ranked Aussie is 10-2 this year with a fourth-round showing at Melbourne Park and Rotterdam wins over Lorenzo Sonego, Marton Fucsovics, Alexander Shevchenko, and Grigor Dimitrov.
“Let’s see what’s coming,” Sinner commented. “I know [De Minaur] quite well, he knows me well, and I guess he’s going to change a couple of things. So tomorrow I have to be really prepared and ready and we will see what I am capable of.
“It would mean a lot [to win the title]. It’s a special place, as I’ve said many times. The tournament believed in me years ago (with a wild card in 2018), and this is my second final.”
The world No. 4 could not ask for better opportunity to lift the trophy. As well as De Minaur is playing, this is obviously a horrible matchup for the 24-year-old. His defense gets the best of most opponents, but it has never been able to withstand Sinner’s incredible ball-striking ability. Going up against Sinner on an indoor hard court doesn’t help matters, either. Anything other than more one-way traffic for the Aussie Open champion would be a big surprise.
Pick: Sinner in 2
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