Vienna
Alex de Minaur kept his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes alive by advancing to the semi-finals of the Vienna Open with a hard-fought 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jakub Mensik on Saturday. The 25-year-old Australian, currently ranked ninth in the ATP Live Race to Turin, battled through a challenging two-hour and 34-minute match.
Mensik, the 19-year-old Czech, took control early, winning the first set in a tie-break with aggressive groundstrokes and 24 winners, including nine aces. However, De Minaur responded strongly, earning a key break in the second set and leveling the match 6-3. He then secured another break in the final set, maintaining his advantage to claim victory. While Mensik lost the match, he remains in strong contention to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, ranking third in the ATP Live Race.
In another quarterfinal, Russia’s Karen Khachanov defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, extending his winning streak to seven matches. Khachanov, the recent Almaty Open champion, dominated the Italian in just one hour and 18 minutes, reaching his first ATP 500 semi-final in Vienna. This win was Khachanov’s first against Berrettini, who had previously led their ATP Head-to-Head series 4-1.
