World number one Jannik Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday with a straight-set victory over Terence Atmane to reach the Cincinnati Open final.
Sinner, the defending champion in Ohio, did not face a break point in a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win.
It marked a 200th tour-level victory on hard courts for the Italian – who is preparing to defend his title at the US Open later this month – and extended his winning streak on the surface to 26 matches.
He will face Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev in Monday’s final.
“A very tough challenge, every time you play against someone completely new it’s very difficult,” said Sinner.
Frenchman Atmane, 23, had come through qualifying to reach the main draw and defeated seeds Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune on his way to meeting four-time major champion Sinner.
“Playing against this guy in the later stages of a tournament, the pressure is higher,” Sinner added.
“He has beaten incredible players so I knew I had to be very careful. He has huge potential.”
As they waited to walk on court, world number 136 Atmane – an avid Pokemon fan – gifted Sinner a trading card from his own collection as a birthday present.
That is where the niceties ended, however, and Atmane impressed early on with his serving, including three successive aces in the seventh game.
But a double-fault from the Frenchman brought up the first-set tie-break which Sinner – who had dropped just one of 21 points on his first serve in the opener – dominated.
Sinner struggled at the start of the second set, requiring five game points to hold the opening game, but that was the closest look Atmane got of his serve as the Italian broke for a 3-1 lead and again to seal the match.
