Zverev sweeps Fery aside in Vienna and closes in on world No. 1

Alexander Zverev beat Britain's Arthur Fery 6-0 6-2 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Vienna Open, BBC Sport reports. The win moves him towards the top of the men's rankings. Reuters reports that Zverev is set to replace Jannik Sinner as world No. 1. He would be the second German to hold the top spot, after Boris Becker in 1991.

The quarter-final lasted 58 minutes. Zverev lost only six points on his own serve. He created nine break points, which are chances to win an opponent's service game, and converted five of them.

Fery had reached the quarter-final by beating Lorenzo Musetti. He received treatment on his leg near the end of that match.

Zverev's route to the last four was not straight. He saved four match points, chances to finish the match, to beat Landaluce earlier in the tournament. On Thursday he beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals. As the top seed, the highest-ranked player in the draw, he is placed to avoid the strongest opponents in the early rounds. That same day, Thomas Muster, a former world No. 1 from Austria, welcomed him to the ATP No. 1 Club.

Zverev is chasing a third title of 2026 in Vienna, after winning the French Open and the US Open this year. According to the ATP's Infosys Win/Loss Index, he has 60 match wins this season. No other player has more than 44.

His semi-final opponent will be either Alex de Minaur or Matteo Berrettini, whose quarter-final was still to be decided. In the other semi-final, Carlos Alcaraz meets Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz beat Tommy Paul 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in his quarter-final. The second set went to a tiebreak, a short game played when a set reaches 6-6, and Alcaraz won it 7-2.

Medvedev beat Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-3 in his quarter-final, and that win secured his place at the ATP Finals. The ATP Finals is the season-ending event for the year's best players. It will be Medvedev's seventh appearance. He joins Zverev, Alcaraz and Ben Shelton, who have already qualified.

In Tokyo, world No. 1 Elena Rybakina pulled out of her Pan Pacific Open quarter-final against Leylah Fernandez with a neck injury. She withdrew a day after securing the year-end women's No. 1 ranking. Fernandez receives a walkover, a win given when an opponent does not play, and she will face Kamilla Rakhimova in the semi-final.

Zverev's next match is the Vienna semi-final.