TORONTO, Canada, Aug 13, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Australia's Alex De Minaur reached his fourth final of the season after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday at the Toronto Masters.

De Minaur's win makes him the first Australian to reach the final in Canada since Patrick Rafter in 2001, who won the title in 1998.

De Minaur followed up his hardcourt form from last weekend in Los Cabos where he finished runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

He will await the winner from the semi-final clash between sixth seed Jannik Sinner and American spoiler Tommy Paul, who upset number one Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

Number 18 De Minaur will bid for his eighth career trophy and second this season after winning a wind-swept semi-final littered with service breaks.

The Australian who knocked out second seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, said winning could not have been more difficult.

"It was a very tough day, tricky conditions for playing tennis with all of the wind," he said.

"From the first point I told myself to stay positive and not expect perfect tennis.

"I showed the level I knew I could - it's about backing it up day after day.

"My goal is to stay consistent and give myself the chance to play in the deep end of the tournament - go toe-to-toe with the best in the world."

The 31-minute opening set established the hit-or-miss tone of a contest where eight of nine second-set games were breaks of serve.

De Minaur squeaked out victory with just nine winners and the same number of unforced errors; his opponent was let down by 38 unforced errors.

De Minaur will be playing his fourth final this year (1-2) and the 14th in his career.