World number one-bound Alexander Zverev suffered a surprise defeat to Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals of the Vienna Open on Saturday. The German top seed, who will officially replace Jannik Sinner at the top of the ATP rankings on Monday, lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (4-7) to the Australian fifth seed.
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," said De Minaur. "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 first set, Zverev dominated the second before a tightly contested decider. Neither player created a break point in the final set, and De Minaur held his nerve in the tie-break to seal the win in two hours and 30 minutes.
De Minaur will face Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final after Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). The seven-time Grand Slam champion extended his unbeaten run at ATP 500 events to 25 matches, with his last loss at that level coming against Holger Rune at the Barcelona Open in April 2025. De Minaur is contesting his fourth final of the year, having won his sole title at the Rotterdam Open in February.
