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One man was assured of leaving the National Bank Open as a first-time ATP Masters 1000 champion, and for Jannik Sinner, the reward was worth the wait. The eighth-ranked Italian toppled Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 29 minutes on Sunday to capture his eighth, and biggest, career ATP singles title.

Sinner was 0-2 previously in ATP Masters 1000 finals, both in Miami; he lost to Hubert Hukacz two years ago and to Danill Medvedev this April. But from 4-4 in the first set against de Minaur, the Italian won eight of the last nine games to become the youngest winner in Canada since Alexander Zverev, then 20, in 2017, the second Italian Masters 1000 champion since the tier of event began in 1990, and the second first-time Masters 1000 champion this year.

"It means a lot. It is a great result," Sinner said on court afterwards. "One I can share with all the people who are close to me every day. It is a nice moment to share with them and we are doing the right things. This result makes us feel good, stronger and hungry to work even harder in the future."

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A moment @janniksin won't ever forget 😊#NBO23 pic.twitter.com/PSdSkuFyAf
— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 13, 2023

Behind 14 winners in 17 games, and five breaks of serve, Sinner also improved his head-to-head record against de Minaur to 5-0, with just one set lost in that time.

"I felt the pressure, but I think I handled it very well," Sinner said. "Trying to play point after point, treating everyone with respect on the court, so I am happy with how I handled the situation."

The win will propel Sinner to a career-high ranking of world No. 6 when the new ATP singles rankings are released on Monday.

"For sure, it's a good confidence boost, no? Especially going into the US Open," he added. "Let's see what positive things can give me this win. I feel like for sure the confidence is going to be a little bit higher, but also my expectations are going to be higher.

"So when I came here, I knew that I can play very, very good. So this is, as I said, a great result, and then we'll see how it goes in the future."

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