Alexander Zverev, set to become the new men's world number one on Monday, suffered his first defeat since securing the top ranking as he lost to Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals of the Vienna Open. The German top seed was beaten 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (4-7) by the Australian fifth seed in a match lasting two hours and 30 minutes.
De Minaur's victory moves him ahead of Spain's Rafael Jodar in the race to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals. "Super proud with how I handled the situation," De Minaur said. "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."
After dropping the opening set, Zverev dominated the second but could not break through in a tightly contested decider. Neither player created a break point, and De Minaur held his nerve in the tie-break to seal the win.
In the final, De Minaur will face Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who advanced with a straight-sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Daniil Medvedev. The win extends Alcaraz's unbeaten run at ATP 500 events to 25 matches, his last loss at that level coming against Holger Rune at the Barcelona Open in April 2025. De Minaur reaches his fourth final of the year, having claimed his sole title at the Rotterdam Open in February.
