Top seed Jannik Sinner eased past Tallon Griekspoor to reach the Rotterdam Open final for a second successive year.
The Australian Open champion overcame home hope Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 6-4 and will face Alex de Minaur in Sunday’s final after the Australian also advanced in straight sets, against Grigor Dimitrov.
Sinner, who claimed his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, has now won 14 successive matches stretching back to last year’s ATP Finals.
The 22-year-old Italian, who holds a 6-0 winning record over de Minaur in their tour-level head-to-heads, will rise to a career-high No 3 in the world rankings if he wins the tournament.
Sinner raced ahead initially in the semi-final. He broke Griekspoor’s serve in the opening game of the match and was soon a double break up at 5-1 before closing out the first set.
The Dutchman was more competitive in the second. Sinner had to save break points in the fourth and sixth games. But the Italian then helped himself to a break and served out the rest of the set.
“It’s just extra focus on important points, but obviously it is better not to get into the position to have to save the break points,” Sinner said after Griekspoor didn’t manage convert any of the six break point opportunities he had in the match overall.
“Today I served really well,” Sinner continued. “I think I made first serves on all the break points, so it’s also part of the confidence. In another way, I felt much better on the court today and I think that helped me today.
“I knew that today I had to raise the level, which I have done, and obviously I’m glad that I can play once more here in the final in Rotterdam,” he concluded.
How to watch on Sky Sports Tennis
Sky Sports has confirmed a new home for tennis in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports Tennis on Sky and NOW, making tennis content available all day, every day for fans.
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as full coverage of the US Open, all exclusively live.
Non-Sky subscribers can stream live matches with a NOW Sports Day and Month Membership, via Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports Arena, and Sky Sports Mix channels.
For further access, fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports app, on SkySports.com and via Sky Sports social channels.
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
Watch the WTA and ATP Tours throughout 2024 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream tennis and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership