Alexander Zverev suffered his first defeat since becoming world number one, losing to Alex de Minaur in the Vienna Open semi-finals. The German top seed, set to replace Jannik Sinner at the top of the rankings, was beaten 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (4-7) by the Australian fifth seed. De Minaur, 27, expressed pride in his performance, stating he played on his terms and refused to back down.
After dropping the first set, Zverev dominated the second, but the match went to a tense decider. With no break points offered, De Minaur clinched victory in the tie-break, sealing the win in two hours and 30 minutes. The victory sees De Minaur leapfrog Rafael Jodar in the ATP Finals qualification race.
He will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final, who defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Alcaraz extended his unbeaten run at ATP 500 events to 25 matches, last losing to Holger Rune in April 2025. This is De Minaur's fourth final of the year, having won his only title at the Rotterdam Open in February.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing