Vienna: Alex de Minaur handed Alexander Zverev his first defeat since the German secured the men's world No. 1 ranking, claiming a hard-fought victory in the Vienna Open semi-finals. The Australian will now face Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
With the win, De Minaur avenged his semi-final defeat to Zverev at Indian Wells in March. The fifth seed broke the German in the fifth game to take the opening set. Zverev hit back strongly in the second, racing to a 4-0 lead to level the match and leave De Minaur struggling to keep pace.
However, the 27-year-old regrouped in a closely contested deciding set. Both players held their serve to force a tie-break, where Zverev began to run out of steam, falling 6-2 behind. The German saved two match points before De Minaur converted his third to seal a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) victory after two hours and 31 minutes. “Super proud, super proud with how I handled the situation,” De Minaur said after the match.
“I was very calm. I played a very aggressive tie-break. I played on my terms. I was going to go out swinging and playing the right type of tennis, and that’s what made the difference today.” The victory also lifted De Minaur into the qualifying positions for the ATP Finals.
The Australian will face second seed Alcaraz for the title. The seven-time Grand Slam champion booked his place in the final with a straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev. With this, he also extended his unbeaten run at ATP 500 events this season to 15 matches.
Alcaraz broke the Russian in the fourth game of the opening set, but Medvedev immediately hit back to level the score. The two remained on serve until a double fault from the 30-year-old presented Alcaraz with two set points at 5-4. The Spaniard converted the first to take the set. Alcaraz looked to be closing in on his fifth final of the year when Medvedev sent a volley into the net, handing the Spaniard a 4-2 lead in the second set.
However, the world No. 5 refused to go down without a fight and responded with a break to love in Alcaraz's next service game. Both players initially struggled to hold their serve in the tie-break before Alcaraz won five consecutive points to seal a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory.Despite the defeat, Medvedev enjoyed a fruitful week, reaching at least the semi-finals of a tournament for the fifth consecutive time and securing his place at next month's ATP Finals.
Alcaraz and De Minaur will both be competing in their first ever Vienna final when they meet for the seventh time on tour. This will also be their third meeting in a championship match following their encounters at Queen's in 2023 and Rotterdam in 2025. The head-to-head record, however, is heavily in Alcaraz's favour, with the Spaniard holding a perfect 6-0 lead.