Alexander Zverev cut a disgruntled figure during and in the wake of his Vienna Open defeat to Alex De Minaur.

After posting a 3-8 record against the world’s top 10 this year, the new world No 1 had a point to prove on Saturday in his semi-final against De Minaur.

But the Australian came out firing in the first set and took the opener 6-4. When Zverev was a break down, he was clearly not happy with the Dunlop tennis balls the ATP 500 event was using.

Indeed, he told the chair umpire, “Do you think it’s normal to play with these balls in a tennis tournament?”

The US Open champion roared back in the second set, however, taking it 6-1, before the two battled it out in the decider on centre court. In the end, the 27-year-old held his nerve and secured a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) victory in two hours, 30 minutes.

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Following the win, which saw world No 8 De Minaur leapfrog Rafael Jodar into ninth in the ATP Race, the Aussie star said he was chuffed with how he handled a pressure-fuelled situation.

“Super proud, super proud with how I handled the situation,” De Minaur said in his on-court interview. “I was very calm, even though I threw in a couple doubles 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.”

Zverev now falls to 3-9 against top 10 opposition in 2026, with his sole victories coming against Ben Shelton, De Minaur, and Taylor Fritz.

After losing early at the Canadian Open, Zverev was among a number of players to criticise the Wilson balls and the conditions in Montreal this year. And he said something similar in Vienna this weekend, while also commending De Minaur’s performance.

He said, via Bild, “I started the tiebreak relatively poorly, made a few unforced errors, and then he didn’t play his way. That’s just how it goes sometimes.

“I thought the match was okay, but it’s been difficult for me to play here this year. The balls and the court are incredibly slow. De Minaur handles that better, and he was also better than me today.”

Zverev, who saved four match points in his opening win in Vienna against Martin Landaluce but lost just two games against Arthur Fery in the previous round, will be the official No 1 when the rankings come out on Monday.

For now, De Minaur is up to eighth but more importantly, is just ahead of Jodar in the last ATP Finals qualification spot. He will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final before heading to the Paris Masters in the coming days.

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