Alex de Minaur has beaten Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (4), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where he will meet top seed Alexander Zverev.
The fifth-seeded Australian edged a tight first set in a tiebreak before pulling clear in the second to win in one hour and 46 minutes, according to the official tournament results.
The win keeps alive his push for a third successive appearance at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Zverev up next
De Minaur will play Zverev for a place in the final, with the match scheduled for not before 4.30pm local time on Saturday (2.30am AEDT on Sunday), according to the tournament schedule.
Zverev reached the last four with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Britain’s Arthur Fery. The other semi-final is between Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-6 (2), and Daniil Medvedev, who beat Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3.
Read more: Alex de Minaur Beats Learner Tien to Reach Vienna Quarter-Finals
Zverev’s earlier win over Tallon Griekspoor confirmed he will rise to world No. 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday, AAP reported.
The race to Turin
De Minaur started the week 10th in the race for the eight places at the ATP Finals, according to AAP, and his chances improved with second-ranked Jannik Sinner set to miss the event through injury.
Read more: Alexander Zverev Seals World No. 1 Ranking With Vienna Win
AAP reported before the quarter-final that a win over Berrettini would lift de Minaur past Spain’s Rafael Jodar, who lost in the last 16 at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, into ninth in the live ATP rankings.
Berrettini, ranked 48th in the world, reached the quarter-finals after sixth-ranked Flavio Cobolli retired while trailing 5-2 in their round-of-16 match.
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