Alexander Zverev beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5 in Vienna to secure the world No. 1 ranking from Monday. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul also advanced, while Arthur Fery beat Lorenzo Musetti to set up a quarter-final with the new No. 1.
Vienna, Austria: Zverev did not need to wait for the rankings to know. Once he closed out Griekspoor in one hour and 35 minutes at the Wiener Stadthalle, the arithmetic was settled: when the new list is published on 2 November, Jannik Sinner will drop to second and the German will be the 30th man to sit at the top of the ATP rankings.
Zverev completes the climb
The top seed made it look routine. He faced no break point against Griekspoor, won 35 of 39 points on his first serve, hit 11 aces and broke once in each set. The Dutchman, ranked 50th, had arrived on the back of a Brussels title but never found a way into Zverev’s service games.
The numbers around the milestone are striking. Zverev is the second German man to reach No. 1 after Boris Becker, who spent 12 weeks there in 1991. At 29 years and 196 days, he will be the second-oldest player to become world No. 1 for the first time, behind only John Newcombe in 1974. The win was also his 64th of the season, the most on tour. He has now beaten Griekspoor in ten of their 13 meetings.
The route there was not always smooth. Zverev saved four match points in a 13-11 tie-break to beat Martin Landaluce in his opener earlier this week. Next comes Fery, the British player who beat Musetti on Thursday.
Fery rallies past Musetti
Fery came from 2-4 down in the deciding set to beat Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and earn the meeting with Zverev. The win puts him in the last eight of a tournament that also features the world No. 3 and the incoming world No. 1.
Alcaraz escapes a tie-break scare
Carlos Alcaraz needed 1 hour and 41 minutes to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6(11). He won seven straight games from 1-1 to take the first set, then watched a break lead slip in the second as Basilashvili, who had won 14 of his previous 17 matches, forced a tie-break. The Georgian led 4-1 in it, but Alcaraz drew level at 4-4, saved set points and won the shoot-out 13-11.
It was his 60th tour-level quarter-final and his 23rd consecutive win at ATP 500 level. After missing match points against Karen Khachanov in round one, he now meets seventh seed Tommy Paul, whom he leads 7-2 in their head-to-head and beat in straight sets at both the Australian Open and the US Open this year.
Medvedev and Paul move through
Daniil Medvedev trailed Cameron Norrie 3-0 in the decider and faced a match point at 4-5, 40/30 before coming through 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1). He will play qualifier Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-finals, his 100th at tour level. Medvedev is fifth in the Race to Turin, 551 points clear of ninth-placed Rafael Jodar, who holds the final qualifying place for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Paul had the easiest day of the quartet, beating Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1. He is 12th in the Race and still has a debut Finals appearance in sight. Coverage of the earlier rounds is in the previous Vienna Open round-up.
Results (Thursday 29 October 2026, Erste Bank Open, Vienna):
Alexander Zverev (1) bt Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-5
Arthur Fery bt Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Carlos Alcaraz bt Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6(11)
Daniil Medvedev bt Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1)
Tommy Paul (7) bt Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1
Friday’s quarter-finals include: Zverev v Fery, Alcaraz v Paul, Medvedev v Mannarino.
