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ALEXANDER ZVEREV’S REVENGE ON MUSETTI PAVES WAY FOR SINNER CLASH

Alexander Zverev beats Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Vienna Open final, setting up a blockbuster clash with Jannik Sinner. The German was dominant on serve, saving all break points faced to advance to his 4th final of 2025.

Alexander Zverev’s Revenge on Musetti Paves Way for Sinner Clash
Alexander Zverev - Photo Credit: REUTERS/Lisa Leutner

Jannik Sinner's opponent in the Vienna Open final will be Alexander Zverev, who defeated Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-5 in straight sets. The German will face the World No. 2 in a match between previous champions in the Austrian capital, marking his 40th career final and his fourth of the season.

The Italian won the last three meetings, including their lone prior hard-court match in the 2024 Vienna quarterfinals, and easily won the head-to-head (H2H) 3-1. This time, though, Zverev solved his opponent's game and exacted retribution on Musetti. In addition, it marks his third victory of the season and his 57th versus a Top 10 opponent.

Musetti entered the match with great expectations, particularly as he is fighting for a spot in the ATP Finals. Even though his qualification for Turin is still uncertain, he was able to increase his lead over Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is in ninth place, to 440 points with just one tournament left. This gives him some peace of mind as the week comes to a close.

Following Tallon Griekspoor's withdrawal before their quarterfinal encounter, Zverev rested in the quarterfinal round. This time, the German served flawlessly, giving up no break points to his opponent while seizing two of every four possibilities he created during the match.

Zverev's flawless serving wins him a vital first-set break.


Both players were able to easily defend their service games in the opening, which was very evenly matched. With an impressive 89% of points won on his first serve, Zverev outperformed Musetti, who earned 82% of points on his first serve. Both had hardly scored points on the comeback as the score approached 3-3, but Zverev gained the lead in the seventh game when he got the game's first break opportunity.

In order to win the set 6-4, the German needed little more effort on the return and depended on flawless service games, winning 11 winners versus 7 for Musetti and 80% of all service points, as opposed to 68% for Musetti.

Additionally, Zverev wins in straight sets.


Despite Zverev's advantage, the second set saw little change as both players held serve with ease. Although neither player had any break opportunities for a significant portion of the set—just one deuce in the seventh game when Musetti was serving—Zverev was unable to seriously challenge his opponent's serve.

But the German three-time Grand Slam runner-up had the last few seconds all to himself. When Zverev was at 4-5, 15-30 in the second set, he had to deal with a challenging service game, but he then embarked on a strong run of points, winning 11 of the next 14 points. "Sascha" took the lead after a solitary break opportunity at 5-5 and used his service game to win 6-4, 7-5, to advance to his fourth final of the year.

Zverev will play Sinner in the championship game.


The first and second seeds will square off in a thrilling final in Vienna when Zverev takes on Jannik Sinner. Without suffering any significant losses, the Italian defeated Alex de Minaur in the semifinals and will want to win his fourth championship of the year. Despite Sinner's victories in their previous two meetings, Zverev currently leads the head-to-head record 4-3.

When they last faced each other, it was in the Australian Open final at the start of the season. Sinner won in straight sets, earning his third Grand Slam trophy, while Zverev lost for the third time in a Grand Slam final.

WHY DID NOVAK DJOKOVIC REACH OUT TO MOISE KOUAME DESPITE WITHDRAWING FROM MIAMI 2026?

Moise Kouame, 17, becomes the youngest Miami Open winner in history and reveals a secret Instagram DM from Novak Djokovic.

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Novak Djokovic Contacts Moise Kouame After 17-Year-Old’s Historic Miami Open Win

Moise Kouame is only 17, but he’s already catching everyone’s eye in tennis. He started this year on fire, grabbing back-to-back ITF titles, then reaching a Challenger semi-final. Now, he's just picked up his first-ever win on the ATP Tour at a Masters 1000 event, no less.

In other news, Leicester City is fighting back against a six-point penalty for breaking financial rules.

Back to Kouame, the world No. 385 pulled off a gritty comeback against Zachary Svajda, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, even while cramping up by the end. People packed Court 7 to watch him make his Masters 1000 debut as a wildcard. Even Novak Djokovic, who skipped the tournament with a shoulder injury, was watching from afar. Since 2019, Djokovic has only played in Miami once, when he was runner-up last year, but clearly, he’s still following the action.

Now, Kouame has made a bit of history. At 17 years and 13 days old, he’s the youngest man ever to win a match at the Miami Open, matched a Nadal record from 2003, and became the seventh-youngest winner at this level. Not bad for a debut. And then, right after his win, he got a message from his idol. Honestly, Kouame was left speechless.

When Steve Weissman from Tennis Channel interviewed him after his first main-draw tour win, Kouame couldn’t hide his nerves. “Actually, I have a small secret. After the win, Novak texted me. I’m so nervous. I don’t know what to answer! I’m really so nervous right now. I don’t know if I’m going to answer. Maybe if you have tips, maybe you can give me?”

He tried to figure out what to say. Should he just text, "Thank you, Novak"? Or maybe, "Thank you, my idol"? Nothing sounded right. “No, never [met him]. It’s my dream. [It was] on Instagram! He DMed me. So, imagine having your idol DM you like this. Oh my god. This is too much for me. Oh my god. Coolest thing ever.”

Weissman jumped in with a bit of advice, too: “Don’t just double-tap it; you’ve got to give a response. ‘Thanks so much, Novak. If you have any time to meet in the future, that would be amazing. Any tips you have, maybe some advice.’

Some tips from Djokovic would come in handy, especially with Kouame set to face 21st seed Jiri Lehecka next. He had to see the physio for cramps after his first-round win, but told Tennis Channel he was doing alright, just a little jittery about talking live on TV.

“Now I’m feeling good, quite stressed! Obviously, we’re live, and my English, all this – I’m quite stressed. But in the match it was cool. I had some cramps, but yeah, I managed to get over it and win at the end. I’m really happy with it,” he said.

What a ride: first big ATP win, a message from Djokovic, and now the whole tennis world is watching.

INSIDE JANNIK SINNER’S HISTORIC INDIAN WELLS VICTORY AS FIRST ITALIAN MALE CHAMPION

Jannik Sinner makes history as the first Italian man to win Indian Wells, defeating Daniil Medvedev in two tiebreaks.

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Inside Jannik Sinner’s Historic Indian Wells Victory As First Italian Male Champion

Jannik Sinner crushed Daniil Medvedev’s hopes at Indian Wells Sunday night. Medvedev looked sharp all week; he even took down Carlos Alcaraz to reach the final.

But when it came to the championship match, Sinner edged him out in two tense tiebreaks, 7-6, 7-6. Medvedev’s loss stings, but let’s be real: his level this week showed he’s back to fighting for big trophies after a pretty rough 2025.

He’s set a big goal for himself, too, with all the pressure that comes along with it. After the match, Medvedev, now 30, talked about whether he’s the one who can break up Alcaraz and Sinner’s grip at the top; he even admitted he slipped up a bit in the final.

On that note, it’s wild how Alcaraz and Sinner have ruled the ATP Tour lately. Between them, they’ve grabbed the last nine Grand Slam titles and barely given anyone else a chance. Still, Medvedev made things interesting at Indian Wells by beating Alcaraz and pushing Sinner to the edge.

In his post-match press conference, Medvedev shared his thoughts on his future and the big question: Can he really challenge Sinner and Alcaraz?

He said, “Honestly, it’s a pleasure to play Sinner and Alcaraz. Last year, I didn’t even get a shot; they were out of reach because I kept losing early. I’m glad this time I played well enough to beat the others first, took down Carlos, and then got to face Jannik.

My goal? Not to obsess over them, but to work on my own game, beat everyone else, and then, chances are, in Miami, I'm going to run into one of them in the semis or the final if I play out of my mind.”

He continued, “It’s tough to say if I’m the guy to challenge them, honestly. I’ve lost a bunch against them, and again today with Jannik. But I know I can play top-level tennis. Whoever I meet next, whether it’s Carlos, Jannik, or someone else, I’ll just try to play my best tennis. I proved I can do it again here, in Dubai, and in Brisbane.

On any given day, anyone can challenge them; look at Jakub beating Jannik in Doha or me beating Carlos here. So it’s not just me, not just Novak, not just Sascha. But it’s hard, and that’s why by the end of the season, those guys have sixty wins and only five or six losses, half of those losses coming against each other. It’s a tough mountain to climb, but you just keep trying.”

Now, Sinner, Alcaraz, and Medvedev head to the Miami Masters, which kicks off Tuesday. The last time around, Jakub Mensik won there; it’s the second Masters 1000 event of 2026.

Sinner made history on Sunday. No Italian man had ever won Indian Wells until he pulled it off. He now owns 25 ATP titles and is the youngest player to win all six ATP hard-court Masters events. Back in 1974, John Newcombe was the tournament’s first champ, beating Arthur Ashe in the final. Since then, Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have all lifted the trophy. Federer and Djokovic sit at the top with five Indian Wells titles each.

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