De Minaur makes history in Rotterdam, reaching third consecutive final – Tennis Now
Alex De Minaur came under constant pressure from Frenchman Ugo Humbert in Rotterdam on Saturday but the Australian top seed never wavered as he made history with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at ABN AMRO.
De Minaur saved all ten break points he faced, including three on serve at 4-3 in the second set, laying the foundation for a sprint to the finish.
With this victory, De Minaur became the first player in history to reach three consecutive Rotterdam finals. He lost to Jannik Sinner in the 2024 final and to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 final hurdle.
“Ultimately I’ve been in this position before,” De Minaur said. “Our plan is to compete for the championship and have no regrets.”
De Minaur improves his record to 6-2 against Humbert and jumps to 10-2 so far in 2026. He will face Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday. Canadian He won his eighth straight match in Saturday’s second semi-final in Rotterdam, defeating Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes..
“I’m very proud of my effort,” De Minaur said of his scrappy victory. “Today, again, a lot of tough moments, a lot of tricky situations, and yeah, I’m very excited to be in the finals again and give myself another chance and hopefully win the title.”
De Minaur performed well in key moments from the start, breaking serve for 2-1 and denying Humbert’s four break attempts in the following game to make it 3-1. The Australian saved two more break points at 4-3 and held on to seal the victory two games later.
This trend continued in the second set, with De Minaur breaking serve first in the first game and then saving a break point in the second game to lead 2-0. Humbert scored nine of his 11 points at the net but was repeatedly thwarted by De Minaur’s body serve on break points.
De Minaur, 26, will compete for his 11th career title and first indoor title on Sunday.
“I find one way and then move on to the next one,” said the Australian.
