Medvedev into Vienna semis and books ATP Finals place

VIENNA: Daniil Medvedev will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Vienna ATP 500 tournament after beating Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Friday, securing a place in the year-end ATP Finals in the process.

Medvedev, the world number five, won 6-2, 6-3 against his 73rd-ranked opponent.

The Russian joins Alexander Zverev, who will become world number one in the next ATP rankings on Monday, Alcaraz, and Ben Shelton in the season-closer, which will run November 15-22 in Turin.

Medvedev has only missed the cut for the ATP Finals once since 2019.

On Friday, he closed out on his second match point on the Frenchman's serve.

Since his elimination in the round of 16 at the US Open in early September by Frances Tiafoe, Medvedev has won tournaments in Hangzhou and Almaty, and reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters 1000 and the Beijing ATP 500.

Standing between him and the final in the Austrian capital is seven-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.

The 23-year-old Spaniard beat American Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) in the quarter-finals.

"I think I played great tennis," Alcaraz said after extending his record to 14-0 in 500-level tournaments this season.

"I would say, overall, just happy for the battle and happy I found my way to get the win in straight sets."

On the other side of the draw, Zverev laid down a marker to his challengers a day after securing the No. 1 ranking with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Briton Arthur Fery.

The repeat of this year's Wimbledon semi-final lasted only 58 minutes as Zverev accelerated into the last four.

"I definitely felt good," Zverev said following his victory before praising Fery. "He doesn't have the same firepower, but he plays tactically extremely well... I know the score was 6-0, 6-2, but he should not put himself down too much."

The German will next face fifth-seeded Australian Alex De Minaur who battled past Italian Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

"I fought him off, especially in the early stages of my serve and throughout the match to not get broken," De Minaur said. "There were tough moments, but I managed to navigate my way through them, and I am stoked to get through that one."