Canadian Open: Preview and prediction of Sinner vs. de Minaur

Tennis is a sport of extremes, of course. But as the extreme specifically relates to the age gap between the aging greats such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and the younger generation that looks to be excellent, especially Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner at 21 years old makes the 24-year-old Alex de Minaur appear to be almost ancient. But the two meet in the final of the National Bank Open (or Canadian Open or Toronto Open or whatever) on Sunday. So who will win?

First of all, let’s just hope de Minaur can make it around the court OK using his cane as assistance. I am joking, of course. De Minaur is only three years older than Sinner and de Minaur moves around the court just fine. He’s also very good on hard courts, which is what the surface in Toronto is made of.

De Minaur has won seven titles on the ATP tour, and all but one of them has been on a hard court. He doesn’t have an overpowering serve but if his return game is sharp, he’s a problem. So Sinner’s serve could dictate who wins the match. If Sinner is consistently landing his first serve, this will be a two-set victory for the Italian.

Sinner versus de Minaur: A guess at who wins in Toronto

But he doesn’t have a long history of winning outdoor hard court tournaments. He actually hasn’t won one since 2021. Since, Sinner has won just two titles, one on clay and one indoor hard court tourney. Maybe outside on a hard court, Sinner struggles with any wind and heat. While it won’t be overly hot by the time Sinner and de Minaur play – it should be in the mid-70s F – it might be a tad humid and there could be a breeze around 10 MPH or more.

The match is scheduled to start at 4 pm ET on Sunday but rain could push that back some. My guess at who wins is this: If the Italian dictates pace of play with his first serve, he is going to win in two sets. But if he struggles, the Aussie will win in three. Sinner has been playing well lately, however, so I am expecting the former to hold true and for him to be the National Bank Open champion.