Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz are both set to play one of the final ATP 500 tournaments of the season at the Vienna Open.
Zverev signed up to the tournament early, while Alcaraz took a wildcard after the delay to the Six Kings Slam.
Both men will be looking to hit good form on the indoor circuit before the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals and there is a stacked field at the Austrian tournament.
Alcaraz and Zverev will be joined by Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Jakub Mensik at the tournament.
Zverev reached the final of the Vienna Open last year, losing to Jannik Sinner, but Alcaraz has not played the indoor tournament since 2021, when he made his only appearance at the European event.
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There could be a good omen for Zverev, however, as that was the only time the German has managed to lift the title at the Vienna Open.
Zverev also beat Alcaraz en route to the ATP 500 tournament in 2021, so he will be hoping history repeats itself at the event.
Alcaraz entered the tournament unseeded and beat Dan Evans, Andy Murray, and Matteo Berrettini to reach the final four of the competition.
Zverev, meanwhile, was the second seed at find his way past Filip Krajinović, Alex de Minaur, and Felix Auger-Aliassime to make the semifinals.
The two players met at very different times in their careers, with Alcaraz just making a name for himself on the ATP Tour, and Zverev swept him aside in straightforward fashion by a scoreline of 6-3 6-3.
Zverev went on to beat Tiafoe, who was a qualifier at the tournament, in the final, to win the 18th ATP Tour title of his career so far.
With Zverev looking to assert himself on the ATP Tour this year, and prove he is a worthy world No 1, he will be hoping he can achieve the same result over Alcaraz yet again.
Alcaraz and Zverev have only played each other once this year and it was an absolute epic in the Australian Open semifinal.
The pair played out a five-set classic as Alcaraz batted off a potential comeback from Zverev to win a deciding set 7-5. He would, of course, go on to beat Novak Djokovic in the final to claim the seventh Grand Slam title of his career.
Alcaraz has claimed three titles this year, while Zverev has won two. However, both of Zverev’s titles were Grand Slams, at Roland Garros and the US Open.
