Alcaraz beats Medvedev to reach Vienna final

Oct 31 - Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4 7-6(2) on Saturday to reach the Vienna Open final for the first time, continuing his strong finish to the season.

The Spaniard reached the 37th tour-level final of his career and his fifth final of the year, while also recording his 25th straight ATP 500 tour victory.

Alcaraz took the opening set after Medvedev double-faulted to give him set point, but the Russian responded strongly in the second and held firm to force a tiebreak.

With neither player able to gain a decisive advantage, Alcaraz produced a barrage of powerful groundstrokes in the breaker to seal victory in 96 minutes.

The result gave the second-seeded Spaniard a measure of revenge after Medvedev handed him his first defeat of the season in the Indian Wells semi-finals in March, while also ending the Russian's seven-match winning streak.

Both players are among the four men who have already qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals next month.

Alcaraz will face either top seed Alexander Zverev or Australia's Alex de Minaur in Sunday's final. REUTERS