Alex de Minaur beats 2nd-seeded Daniil Medvedev to reach Toronto semifinals

De Minaur will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a battle of unseeded players in their first career Masters 1000 semifinal

Alex de Minaur beat second-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7), 7-5 on Friday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals.

Alex de Minaur, of Australia, hits a return on his way to defeating Daniil Medvedev (AP)

“I had to play some of my best tennis today,” said De Minaur, from Australia. “It has been a great week for me so far. I played the right way today. I think having played him at the end of last year gave me the confidence that I had a chance. I just had to play the right way and I am extremely proud of the effort and to still be alive."

Medvedev, the Russian who won the 2021 in Toronto, had seven double-faults — the last on match point on a warm, sunny afternoon at Sobeys Stadium.

De Minaur will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a battle of unseeded players in their first career Masters 1000 semifinal. In March, de Minaur won in Acapulco for his seventh career title.

Davidovich Fokina beat American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 in the opening quarterfinal.

In the night session, top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of the United States, and seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy opposed Gael Monfils of France.