De Minaur Zverev Vienna produced the week's surprise: Alex de Minaur beat Alexander Zverev 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) in the semi-final of the Vienna Open, handing the German his first defeat since he secured the men's world number one ranking.
Zverev, the top seed, replaces Jannik Sinner at the summit of the men's rankings on Monday. The match lasted two hours and 30 minutes and was settled by a tie-break after a third set in which neither player could create a break point.
De Minaur Zverev Vienna semi-final turns on the decider
De Minaur, the fifth seed, took the opening set before Zverev overpowered him in the second, conceding just one game. The deciding set stayed on serve throughout, and it was the Australian who held his nerve in the tie-break to close it out.
Zverev had arrived in the last four on a strong run, having reached the semi-finals with a dominant victory over Britain's Arthur Fery. He has won the French Open and US Open this year.
What De Minaur said
"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."
Alcaraz beats Medvedev to reach a fifth final this year
Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish second seed, beat Daniil Medvedev 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in the other semi-final. The seven-time Grand Slam winner reached his fifth final of the year and extended his unbeaten run at ATP 500 events to 25 matches.
Alcaraz's most recent defeat at that level came against Holger Rune at the Barcelona Open in April 2025. He will face De Minaur in the final.
ATP Finals race shifts after the Vienna result
The victory lifted De Minaur above Spain's Rafael Jodar in the race to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals. Vienna is his fourth final of the year; his only title this season came at the Rotterdam Open in February.
For Zverev, the defeat is a setback in momentum rather than in ranking, with the number one position already secured. His next opportunity to respond comes on the indoor hard-court swing that follows Vienna.
The original report is available at bbc.co.uk.
