By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, August 12, 2023

Alex de Minaur is wide awake in Masters dream land.

A fierce de Minaur put the sleeper hold on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-3 roaring into his maiden Masters 1000 final in Toronto today. 

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It's the fourth final of the season for the unseeded de Minaur, who defeated Tommy Paul to win Acapulco in February, fell to World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Queen's Club final on grass in June then bowed to Stefanos Tsitsipas in last weekend's Los Cabos final.

So what's the secret to de Minaur's surge?

Fast feet and daily siestas.

De Minaur credits his pre-match nap ritual with his rise to a second straight final.

"I've [been] in Los Cabos, due to the late matches, I got into this routine of having a little nap midafternoon," de Minaur said. "Nap, siesta, call it whatever you want.

"And actually, here I've been kind of getting into the same routine. They have a beautiful, quiet room downstairs with a couple of beds. And I tell you what, I've been making use of that every day before my match."

Afternoon shut-eye has helped de Minaur stay sharp mentally—and it's showed.



The Aussie nicknamed Demon for his speed Demon sprints around the court has knocked off 11th-seeded Cameron Norrie, eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz and second-seeded Daniil Medvedev as he continues his quest for an eighth career title.

Sleeping on the job may well gain major endorsement should de Minaur defeat either Jannik Sinner or Tommy Paul in the final for a maiden Masters crown.

The daily dose of deep rest has helped de Minaur rocket up the rankings to a new career-high of No. 12.

The energized Aussie aims to keep the slumber party and successful surge rolling. 

"It's no secret I've been wanting to get to this stage for the last two, three years," de Minaur said. "You know, I've been top 20 in the world for maybe the last four years and kind of being stable. And, you know, there's a lot of merit in that, but, at the same time, I've been wanting to push for more.

"And I think the step is basically just going on a run in a big tournament. That's the biggest difference. That's where you get all the points and where you're able to make the big jump. And then, all of a sudden, you start getting protected a little bit more with seedings and stuff at the bigger tournaments, and then everything starts to click. So I think I'm in the right direction. And, yeah, hopefully this is the week."

Photo credit: Getty