De Minaur jumped inside the baseline as soon as he knew he had made a good return and threw the kitchen sink at Sinner to earn his first break point of the night, which the Italian quickly staved off.
Australian Open 2025 LIVE updates: Sinner wins first set over de Minaur in semi-final

Australian Open 2025 LIVE updates: Sinner wins first set over de Minaur in semi-final
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Demon’s first break chance quickly extinguished
By Marc McGowan
Sinner fights off break chance
De Minaur is keeping the crowd in the match and it is giving him some energy.
He earned a break point against Sinner in the second game but he was forced into hitting it just wide of the line.
The seagulls are frustrating Sinner with their noise but he still nailed two winners including a deft drop shot to win the game.
Sinner leads 6-3, 2-0.
A troubling trend continues…
By Marc McGowan
Demon is broken to start the second set, and a troubling trend continues. The Aussie is having to work so hard on his service points, with cheap points a rarity, and that is not a winning formula against Sinner. Something must change – quickly.
‘He’s getting the return back so quickly’
Speaking from his courtside coaching pod, Australian tennis legend and de Minaur team member Lleyton Hewitt says “the Demon” has to lift his first serve performance. He’s already been broken to start the second set, and this match could escape from him altogether if he doesn’t find an answer soon.
Lleyton Hewitt gave his thoughts to Nine from Alex de Minaur’s courtside coaching pod.Credit: Getty Images
“Alex has been trying to mix it up. Getting the first serve percentage up against a quality return [is so important]. It is coming back so quickly and Alex is having to fight off the deep ball, so it is not easy and Sinner is hitting the ball extremely well,” Hewitt added.
Sinner breaks again
Heartbreak for de Minaur as Sinner breaks him in the first game of the second set.
They had a wild exchange of volleys at the net and it ended with Sinner taking the break.
Sinner leads 6-3, 1-0.
Watch: Sinner early first break of the match
Sensational Sinner
By Marc McGowan
That one service break was all Sinner needed to cruise to a 6-3 lead. But de Minaur has greater concerns: Sinner conceded only five points in as many service games. Incredible efficiency from the Italian superstar, who will hold on to the world No.1 ranking no matter how far he goes in this tournament.
Sinner wins first set
Sinner dropped the first point of the game when de Minaur lofted a lob over his head and he chose to leave it.
But after that Sinner just sent the Aussie wide and then cracked a winner back in the other direction.
The top seed has won the first set. De Minaur has a big mountain to climb now but he isn’t out of it yet.
‘That’s just too good’
Jannik Sinner is playing clinical tennis early.Credit: AP
Despite going down early 0-15 as he was serving for the set (thanks to an excellent de Minaur pass), Sinner has all the answers, with John McEnroe exclaiming at his easy put-away winners: “That’s just too good.”
Sinner takes the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
Sinner serving for the set
De Minaur powered through that service game.
He played some excellent shots and took it up to Sinner, which is a good sign for the next set.
Alex de Minaur.Credit: Getty Images
But it will take something brilliant from the Aussie to deny Sinner a perfect start.
Sinner leads 5-3, he is serving for the first set.
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