About this time last year, in Acapulco, Mexico, De Minaur won his lone ATP 500 title. He now has seven trophies in total.

With only one set lost and no defeat to the “Demon,” fourth-ranked Sinner has a formidable challenge ahead of him. Regardless of the outcome of the final, the world No. 11 player will undoubtedly climb to a career-high ranking of No. 9.

“I’m really pleased with my performance for the entire game. From beginning to end, it was definitely one of the better games I’ve ever played, according to de Minaur.

Even so, I always have faith that Grigor would raise his game and play to the very end. Today, I had to fend off some really difficult break points, and I think that’s what made the difference. In crucial situations, I was able to maintain my serve, and I will fight another day.

In addition to defeating Seb Korda, David Goffin, and Andrey Rublev—who overcame him to win their fourth-round match at the Australian Open last month—De Minaur has been playing exceptionally well.

As part of the fast Ultimate Tennis Showdown Tour, he also advanced to an exhibition final in Oslo, Norway, last week, losing to Rublev.

De Minaur defeated Rublev in the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open, his fourth top-10 defeat of the year (together with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Alex Zverev, and Taylor Fritz) and his tenth since the 2023 season began.

This prolific streak contributed to his self-description as “night and day a different player” following his devastating departure from the Australian Open this year.

Last year, on the Sydneysider’s 24th birthday, Dimitrov saved two match chances to defeat de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam tournament, but he was unable to overcome him this time.

Starting both sets, De Minaur broke the Bulgarian and saved three break points for himself. In an incredible display, he scored 17 wins and made just four unintentional errors.

If he can defeat Sinner for the first time, he can climb into fifth place in the ATP Race based only on this year’s results. Players who win The Race advance to the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy at the end of the year.

At the top of the men’s tour are Grand Slam winners Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Sinner. However, de Minaur has cemented himself as the best of the rest because to his continuously outstanding performance over the last 13 months.

Sinner still has the utmost regard for his competitor, even though he beat de Minaur in his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto last year before easily defeating him in the Davis Cup final in November.

Following his 6-2, 6-4 victory over Tallon Griekspoor, the Italian sensation declared, “It would mean a lot [to win the Rotterdam title]”.

“This is my second time playing in this final; last year, I lost in three sets to Medvedev], but each final is unique, so we’ll see what happens. I have to be ready because I know [de Minaur] rather well and he knows me as well. I assume he will make some changes tomorrow.

“What has already occurred is not particularly relevant. Today, I watched him perform. He was a really talented player. Tomorrow, I’m hoping to play some decent tennis as well.

De Minaur attributed much of his success this week to his optimistic outlook, which he claimed was crucial after “a hard year.”

“I felt [very good] from the first go here in Rotterdam, but there are times when it could be a little tougher to be very cheerful all the time,” he remarked.

“I’ve been cool and collected the entire time, so this [had to be] my norm, right? Playing my best tennis will require me to bring this to every game I play on the court.

“I’ve taken a significant step in the right direction, and I’m consistently demonstrating the caliber of tennis I can play. Hopefully, I’ve upped the bar a little bit, but there’s still more to do.

The Rotterdam singles final is slated to begin at 1.30 am (AEDT) on Monday morning, following the doubles championship match.