WASHINGTON \u2014 Alex de Minaur ended Corentin Moutet\u2019s \u201clucky loser\u201d run at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.<\/p>\n
Moutet, a 26-year-old Frenchman who earned that label after losing in qualifying but taking Holger Rune\u2019s spot in the tournament when he withdrew, made an impressive march to the semifinals, defeating 2023 champion Dan Evans in the Round of 16 and No. 8 seed and 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
But No. 7 seed de Minaur, a 26-year-old Australian, refused to be Moutet\u2019s next conquered opponent and cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 45 minutes on Saturday night at Rock Creek Tennis Center.<\/p>\n
In a post-match interview with the Tennis Channel, de Minaur pointed out how he did not take Moutet for granted considering his path to the semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all saw what he did yesterday,\u201d de Minaur said. \u201cToday, I knew it wasn\u2019t going to be pretty, but I did what I needed to do to get to the finals here.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Minaur advanced to his second singles final of the year and 19th of his career. He is 9-9 in his previous finals appearances, winning his last title on June 10, 2024, at \u2019s-Hertogenbosch.<\/p>\n
De Minaur will play in Sunday\u2019s final at 5:30 p.m. against No. 12 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who upset No. 4 seed Ben Shelton.<\/p>\n
Both de Minaur and Moutet held their opening serves. De Minaur had a chance to break with the score tied at 1-1, but Moutet warded him off.<\/p>\n
De Minaur got a second break point opportunity during Moutet\u2019s next serve, but Moutet kept him at bay again. But on Moutet\u2019s next service game, back-to-back backhand errors gave de Minaur the opening he needed to finish off the first set.<\/p>\n
The initial setback elicited some frustration from Moutet. First, he spiked his racquet off the hardcourt and then broke the racquet over his knee. That second outburst earned him a warning for racquet abuse.<\/p>\n
Leylah Fernandez and Anna Kalinskaya advance to DC Open women’s final<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n