De Minaur, Alcaraz Set Intriguing Vienna Title Showdown

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur (photo: e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer)

VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 31, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

In their 14th career meeting, one would expect there would be few if any secrets remaining between World No. 2 and top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany and his opponent, World No. 10 and fifth seed Alex de Minaur from Australia. There weren’t but that didn’t keep de Minaur from playing some of his most gutsy and inspiring tennis of the week – if not the season.

By the end of their two-hour, 30-minute semifinal tussle at the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open in the Austrian capital, the Australian No. 1 beat the soon-to-be World No. 1 Zverev for the second time this year. He became just the fourth man in ATP 500 series history (since 2009) to record 21 or more wins at this level in a single season after holding off Zverev, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), to advance to Sunday’s title match against World No. 3 and second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.

The 27-year-old Sydneysider extended his unbeaten indoor record this season to 10-0, highlighted by winning the Rotterdam title in February. His victory over Zverev was his first outside of team events and the 130 points he earned for his semifinal triumph moved him past Spain’s Rafael Jodar by a single point into No. 9 on the PIF ATP Race To Turin, the final qualifying sport for the Nitto ATP Finals.

“Super proud, super proud with how I handled the situation,” de Minaur said during his on-court interview with ATP Media, after gutting out his 46th victory of the 2026 season. “I was very calm, even though I threw in a couple [double faults] there. I thought, all in all, I played a very aggressive tie-break. 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.”

From the outset, de Minaur jumped out to a 4-2 lead. He broke Zverev in the fifth game and consolidated the break, taking advantage of seven unforced errors by the German No. 1 in the early going, while facing no break points on his serve. Soon, de Minaur closed out the 50-minute first set with his second ace and 11th winner overall to win 6-4, outpointing Zverev 34-22.

However, Zverev regrouped and rallied in the second set. He grabbed a double-break, 4-0 lead, then consolidated the break to increase his advantage to 5-0, after saving four break points. After de Minaur held his serve for the first time in the set, Zverev fought off two more break points and won the 40-minute second set 6-1 to force a decider.

In the final set, on serve through the first 10 games and with neither player facing a break point, de Minaur assured himself of at least a tiebreaker following a love hold that was punctuated by back-to-back-to-back service aces. Then, de Minaur gained a deuce after trailing 0-40, hustling after each point like his life depended upon it, before Zverev won consecutive points to set up a decisive tie-break.

During the tie-break, de Minaur moved out to a quick 3-0 lead, breaking Zverev twice, before giving one of the breaks back with his second double fault. Soon, at the changeover it was 4-2 de Minaur, needing to win just three more points. An effective return and an unforced error made it 5-2. De Minaur gained a match point after Zverev swatted a backhand long, but served his second double fault of the tie-break to give the serve back to Zverev.

Next, Zverev erased a second match point with a powerful serve that de Minaur netted. Finally, de Minaur put away the victory on his third match-point opportunity, winning the tie-break 7-4, after Zverev hit a ninth-shot forehand return wide right. Upon securing the win, de Minaur clenched his right fist, smiling and he looked toward his box in triumph.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ATP Tour (@atptour)

De Minaur won a high-quality semifinal, hitting 25 winners while outpointing Zverev 95-94, and became the first Australian finalist in Vienna tournament history. He remained aggressive throughout the semifinal – his third-straight year in the Vienna last four – and picked his moments to excel.

“I’m just happy with what I’m doing, the way I’m competing and going about my business,” de Minaur said. “I’m just [putting] one foot in front of the other. Ultimately, I’m playing some good tennis, so I’m looking forward to hopefully finishing [the season] strong.”

Alcaraz remains undefeated in ATP 500 matches this season

World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain advanced to his 37th tour-level final of his career – and third indoors – after beating World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia for the seventh time in 10 career meetings. 

The 23-year-old second-seeded wild card improved to 15-0 at ATP 500 level this year and has reached at least five finals in a season for the fifth consecutive year after defeating the third-seeded Medvedev, 6-4, 7-6 (2), in one hour and 36 minutes. The win improved Alcaraz’s win-loss record this season to 37-5, while the loss ended a seven-match winning streak for Medvedev, which began with last week with his successful title defense at Almaty.

Alcaraz capitalized on an early service break in the fourth game, winning a 15-shot rally, to break Medvedev for a 3-1 lead. However, the break lead was short-lived after Medvedev broke back in the ensuing game to get back on serve. Alcaraz continued to pressure Medvedev in each of the Russian’s service games and, ahead 5-4, he broke his opponent for the second time to win the 35-minute opening set 6-4.

The Spaniard pushed Medvedev into committing six unforced errors and 10 forced errors, while also hitting 10 winners. He was the steadier player and won 31 of the 53 first-set points played.

Into the second set, Alcaraz broke on his second chance to go ahead 4-2 after Medvedev netted a third-shot slice volley forehand. However, like in the first set, Medvedev broke back in the next game after Alcaraz netted a third-shot backhand volleyball and the two were back on serve.

Soon, after both players held serve a pair of times, it was 6-all and time for a tie-break to decide the outcome. Alcaraz jumped out to a 4-2 lead after hitting an authoritative forehand winner and broke Medvedev, again, with a deep backhand that the Russian wasn’t able to get his racquet on. Finally, Alcaraz put away the straight-set victory after winning a couple of solid exchanges.

“It’s a great feeling, beating someone like Daniil on an indoor court, after the run he was having,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview with ATP Media, after achieving his first Top-5 victory since returning from his nearly-five-month injury respite. “A lot of wins in a row, a lot of confidence and I was able to beat him. So, it is special. 

“I’ve been working really hard in every aspect of my game, to try and be in good shape for this tournament, and to try to give myself another chance to go far in a tournament.”

Alcaraz finished with 28 winners to 26 unforced errors. He hit seven winners, won 78 percent (35 of 45) of his first-serve points, and converted three of four break points. Alcaraz outpointed his opponent, 72-62. Medvedev countered with 15 winners but made 18 unforced errors.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ATP Tour (@atptour)

Although Medvedev leads all players on Tour in hard-court wins this season (41) and was on an 18-2 run since the US Open – advancing to five semifinals in as many weeks – Alcaraz denied him from reaching a third Vienna final after winning the 2022 title. Medvedev was also denied becoming the 10th man to reach 40 hard-court tour-level finals in the Open Era.

However, the 30-year-old Medvedev by reaching the Vienna semifinals secured his qualification for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

At times, Alcaraz was pushed by Medvedev, but he found a way to reach the final without losing a set.

“I’m really happy to have the chance to play another final, and my first one here in Vienna,” said Alcaraz, who will take a 6-0 head-to-head advantage against de Minaur into Sunday’s final. “I will try to make the most of the time to be in good shape, to recover well physically and mentally for tomorrow. It’s been a great week and I’m looking forward to it.”

Around the Wiener Stadthalle

With all seeded teams already eliminated from the doubles draw, Saturday’s semifinals inside Marx Halle on the Glaubandich Court were up for grabs. 

In the first semifinal, Austrians Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner, who were finalists last week in Almaty after winning the Rolex Shanghai Masters the week before – and compiled a 13-2 win-loss record since forming last month during Austria’s Davis Cup tie against Belgium – defeated Guido Andreozzi of Argentina and Manuel Guinard of France, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (9), in one hour and 34 minutes to advance to their third-consecutive final.

Lucas Miedler, Neil Oberleitner

Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner (photo: e-motion/Stefan Strasser)

Miedler and Oberleitner combined to strike 14 aces and won 80 percent (44 of 55) of their first-serve points. They converted one of four break-point chances and outpointed their opponents 79-73.

For Miedler, it’s the fourth time he’s advanced to the Vienna doubles final. He won trophies paired with Alexander Erler in 2022 and 2024. Last year, he reached the title match with Francisco Cabral of Portugal but lost to Great Britain’s Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.

In the second semifinal, Americans Ryan Seggerman and Learner Tien advanced with a 6-3 7-6 (9) victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry, in 75 minutes. Playing together for the first time this season and just second time overall, they combined to hit 13 aces and dropped just four points on their first serve, winning 43 of 47 (91 percent). They faced no break points and converted their only break-point chance against the Argentines. Seggerman and Tien outpointed Cerundolo and Etcheverry 65-58.

• Alfie Hewett of Great Britain won the Erste Bank Open Wheelchair Invitational title. Hewett defeated defending champion and his longtime doubles partner Gordon Reid of Great Britain, 6-2, 6-3, in the final on Centre Court at the Wiener Stadthalle.

Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett

Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett (photo: e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer)

The 28-year-old Hewitt, a 37-time Grand Slam champion, current world No. 2 took and Paralympic gold medalist, control of the match from the very beginning against Reid.

“It is my first time in Vienna and it has been an incredible experience,” Hewett said, quoted by the Erste Bank Open website.

“Playing on this iconic court in front of so many people is what you dream of as a wheelchair tennis player. Thank you to the organizers for giving us this stage. We want to showcase our sport in the best possible way. This tournament has a bright future and I am looking forward to coming back.”

Saturday’s Erste Bank Open results

Sunday’s Erste Bank Open order of play

By the numbers

The four players with the best hard-court win-loss records on the ATP Tour this season all happen to be semifinalists in Vienna: Daniil Medvedev 41-12, Alexander Zverev 36-10, Carlos Alcaraz 32-4, and Alex de Minaur 30-11.

“Quotable …”

“That’s the aim. That’s the type of matches that you want to be playing against the best in the world. Right now, he is the best in the world. I am excited for that one. … Hopefully, I can put on a battle [Saturday].”

– Alex de Minaur of Australia, during his on-court interview Friday evening after defeating Matteo Berrettini, on facing World No. 2 and top seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals Saturday.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Michael Dickens

A Czech Legacy Continues With Its Latest Billie Jean King Cup Success

October 1, 2026

Florian Heer

Carlos Bernardes: Vom Schiedsrichterstuhl zum Challenger-Turnierdirektor

April 22, 2026

Podcast

Categories