Alex de Minaur has earned the perfect 25th birthday present, booking a place in the final of the Rotterdam Open with an emphatic win over Grigor Dimitrov.
At the same event on de Minaur's birthday in 2023, the Bulgarian veteran Dimitrov proved a veritable party pooper by knocking out the Australian number one in the quarter-finals.
But 'Demon' avenged that narrow defeat emphatically in the Rotterdam Ahoy arena in Sunday's (AEDT) semi-final with a 6-4, 6-3 win that has set him up with a championship match against top seed Jannik Sinner, who took down Dutch home hope Tallon Griekspoor.
The win has also ensured de Minaur will rise to a career-high number nine in the world rankings next week from his current position of 11.
"I'm extremely happy with the level throughout the whole match," a delighted de Minaur said afterwards.
"It was probably one of the better matches I've played from start to finish.
"Even saying that, I always know that Grigor is going to lift his level and compete until the end, and I had to fight off some pretty tough break points, when I came up with some of my best tennis."
De Minaur crashed 14 winners and made just four unforced errors in his impressive 84-minute march.
"From the word go here in Rotterdam, I've felt a very calm presence. I've felt positive, I've been calm and collected throughout whole matches, and I think that's been a big key for me," de Minaur said.
De Minaur is competing in his first tournament since his agonising last-16 loss to Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open.
AAP