ATP Tour

Sinner stays perfect against De Minaur, reaches Beijing final

Jannik Sinner maintained his perfect Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Alex de Minaur on Tuesday at the China Open, where he earned a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win to advance to his 30th tour-level final and ninth consecutive title match on a hard court.

The Italian had won all 10 of his previous meetings against De Minaur, dating back to their Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF match in 2019. Clashing in the semi-finals in Beijing, Sinner once again had too much for the Australian, who fought valiantly in the second set but was ultimately overpowered down the home stretch in the two-hour, 20-minute battle.

“I felt like the level was very high,” Sinner said. “Many great rallies, many great chances for both. I had my chances in the second set and couldn’t use them but he had his chances and it was quite an even match. In the third set I tried to raise my level. I broke him very early, which gave me confidence to then serve better. I am very happy about today. It was a different match than usual against him, it was a very even match.”

Showing Beijing who's BOSS 😤@janniksin defeats De Minaur to reach a third consecutive @ChinaOpen final.#2025ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/WTg3kvPYdg

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2025

Sinner is just the second player alongside Novak Djokovic (2012-15) to reach three consecutive Beijing finals, having triumphed in 2023 and fallen to Carlos Alcaraz in 2024. He will aim to taste more success at the ATP 500 hard-court event on Wednesday when he meets Learner Tien in the title match.

The 24-year-old has advanced to finals in seven of the eight events he has played this year, winning titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He is chasing his 21st tour-level crown this week.

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Sinner arrived in Beijing after losing to Alcaraz in the US Open final. The Italian ceded the No. 1 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings with his defeat to the Spaniard, but will aim to keep pace in his battle with rival Alcaraz for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours across the remaining months of the season. He trails the 22-year-old, who is competing in the Tokyo final on Tuesday, by 2,590 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

De Minaur has earned more hard-court tour-level wins than anyone else this year (34), but was unable to find a way past Sinner, who has defeated the Australian more than any other opponent on Tour.

“He was serving great at times with great pace and precision,” Sinner added. “He was returning very well. I was serving very well today, but he neutralised my serve very well. He was moving very fast and this court is quite slow at times, so he arrives at more balls. I tried to stay concentrated and not lose mental energy. It was a very difficult match today, so I am very happy.”

De Minaur’s run to the semi-finals in Beijing has helped his Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances. The 26-year-old is up one spot to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin on 3,345 points. He is 640 points ahead of 10th-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is the first player outside the Top 8 cut, with ninth-placed Jack Draper sidelined for the rest of the year due to injury.

In an engaging semi-final, Sinner outclassed De Minaur early on, using his trademark forehand through the middle to carve open the court and dictate the rallies. The Italian’s strategy paid off, pulling the third seed from side to side to clinch the opening set.

But the match took a sharp turn in the second set. Sinner’s level dipped and De Minaur, showing grit, resilience and more aggression, pounced on the opportunity. The Australian cleaned up his game, committing just eight unforced errors to Sinner’s 20, and battled hard to claim only his second-ever set against the World No. 2.

Still, history wasn’t on De Minaur’s side and neither was Sinner’s resolve. Despite landing just 52 per cent of his first serves in the final set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, the top seed roared back with relentless baseline aggression. Sinner recorded a 9.8 forehand shot quality in the third set, making 30 of his 33 forehands, to deny De Minaur a first career win over him.