Jannik Sinner sets up clash against ‘very solid, very fast’ Alex de Minaur, but Felix Auger-Aliassime out

ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner on the slide

Jannik Sinner held off Marc-Andrea Huesler at the Sofia Open to earn a quarter-final encounter against Alex de Minaur.

Rising star Sinner saw off the challenge of Huesler from Switzerland, winning 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 18 minutes with one break of serve in each set enough for the victory.

Next up is sixth seed De Minaur, the player that Sinner beat in the final of the Next Gen Finals in 2019.

“He’s a very solid player, moving very fast,” the 19-year-old Italian said. “I think he, for sure, improved a lot. He improved and I improved. It’s going to be a completely different match from last year at the Next Gen [ATP Finals].

“He’s going to change something for sure, maybe me as well. I still have to prepare how to play against him. But the basic plan is always the same: try to serve well, try to [make] him move, playing deep. Those are the basics and then you have a little bit it depends which opponent you play. For sure it’s the toughest match so far here for me. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Australian De Minaur reached the last eight after defeating Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in one hour and 51 minutes.

Meanwhile, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 2020 season came to an end as he suffered a 6-4, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Salvatore Caruso.

World No 21 Auger-Aliassime ends the year with a 23-19 record and with three runners-up trophies.

Sixth seed John Millman overcame a second-set fightback from Gilles Simon, winning 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 to earn a quarter-final clash against Vasek Pospisil.

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Alex De Minaur Jannik Sinner

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