Alex de Minaur Beats Alexander Zverev in Final-Set Tiebreak to Reach Vienna Final

Alex de Minaur defeated Alexander Zverev 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(4) on Saturday to reach the Vienna final, setting up a championship match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Erste Bank Open.

The fifth-seeded Australian took the opening set with a decisive service break, but Zverev responded with a much stronger second set. The German established an early advantage and conceded only one game to force a decider, according to Sportschau’s match report.

Zverev held from deuce at 5–6 in the third set to send the match into a tiebreak. De Minaur then built a 6–2 lead. He double-faulted on his first match point, and Zverev saved the second with a powerful serve before missing a forehand on the third, Tennis Majors reported.

Alcaraz secured his place earlier Saturday by beating Daniil Medvedev 6–4, 7–6(2). Both finalists therefore came through the top four seeds, with Alcaraz eliminating the third seed and de Minaur overcoming the tournament’s top seed. Their title match is scheduled for Sunday.

The result was de Minaur’s first victory over Zverev outside team competitions. Tennis Majors reported that he had lost their previous eight meetings in individual tournaments, with his earlier successes coming in the ATP Cup, United Cup and Laver Cup.

Zverev’s defeat does not change the ranking milestone he secured earlier in the week. He is due to become world No. 1 when the rankings update Monday, but he will leave Austria without adding the singles championship to that achievement.

The result secured de Minaur’s fourth final of the season, following appearances in Rotterdam, ’s-Hertogenbosch and Beijing. He won the Rotterdam tournament in February. De Minaur arrived in the semifinal following a straight-sets quarterfinal win over Matteo Berrettini. His next task is Alcaraz, who also advanced through his quarterfinal without dropping a set before beating Medvedev.