'Demon' fought admirably but in vain to halt his run against the ruthless world No.2 in Saturday's semi-final, and there was absolutely nothing unlucky about the manner in which the holder made it 13 wins in a row over the great Aussie trier at the Inalpi Arena.
Cheered on by 13,000 adoring home fans, Sinner had to overcome the most doughty first-set resistance from the Aussie until he forged away in dazzling fashion to an almost inevitable 7-5 6-2 victory and set up a final against either world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz or Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
It ended a crucial week in de Minaur's still improving career as he earned his first ever win at the season-ending championship over Taylor Fritz, after showing huge resilience following a crushing defeat by Lorenzo Musetti which had left him in the depths of despair afterwards.
Yet, ultimately, some things never change - and Sinner's complete mastery over the Aussie in the most one-sided rivalry that currently exists at the top of the men's game seems one of them. It's now 29 sets to two, stretching back six years.
De Minaur tried everything, playing almost as well as he could have hoped in a 66-minute opening set, yet still succumbing with seeming inevitability to the Wimbledon and Australian Open champ, who's made it to a third-straight final.
The world No.7 started superbly, even earning three break points in Sinner's opening service game, but the man who's now won 30 consecutive indoor hardcourt matches escaped unscathed and never gave de Minaur another sniff.
The Australian was as aggressive as he was allowed to be and scrambled for his life in defence, saving seven break points in that opening stanza under the most suffocating pressure, until Sinner finally cracked him with a rapier backhand winner to move 6-5 up.
Serving superbly, Sinner only had seven second serves all set and once ahead, he was freed up to show his very best, breaking immediately in the second set with an astonishing down-the-line sliding backhand and then racing into a 4-0 lead while conceding just five points.
De Minaur was being totally outplayed, only not in the heart department, as he reduced the deficit to 1-4 to huge sympathetic applause from the locals.
But by now playing at a level that only his great rival Alcaraz can hope to match, Sinner was irresistible, leaving de Minaur to offer an imploring look up at his players' box as if to ask 'what can I do?'.
With his 30th winner, a searing inside-out forehand, Sinner sealed his 14th consecutive victory on his end-of-season tear before paying tribute to his valiant opponent.
"It was a tough match," he admitted. "I felt like he was serving great, very precise. In the second set, I broke very early and then my level rose. I tried to be a bit more aggressive and it worked well."
Everything's set up for the Italian fans to celebrate an end-of-season humdinger between the two superstars who've contested the last three grand slam finals, but only if Alcaraz can first complete his half of the bargain by beating world No.8 Auger-Aliassime in their semi later on Saturday.
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