4 shocking results of the day from Vienna Open, Swiss Indoors Basel, & Tokyo Open ft. Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas
Alexander Zverev endured the most surprising loss from Friday's tennis action. The German played at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, one of two ATP 500 tournaments this week alongside Swiss Indoors Basel.
The semifinals at the two abovementioned tournaments, as well as the Tokyo Open, the biggest event on the 2024 WTA Tour this week, are now set. In Vienna, Lorenzo Musetti, Karen Khachanov, Jack Draper, and Alex de Minaur have progressed to the last four stage. Meanwhile, youngsters make up the semifinal lineup in Basel, with 22-year-old Ben Shelton being the eldest.
Over in Tokyo, top seed Zheng Qinwen has navigated her way to another tour semifinal in which she will face Diana Shnaider. Several top players, including Zverev, fell by the wayside on Day 5 of all three tournaments, and here's a rundown of the four most shocking results from October 25:
#4 Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina has been the best player at WTA 500 tournaments this year, winning two of six finals at the level, most recently at the Ningbo Open last week. The tough run at Ningbo took its toll on the Russian No. 1. She needed three sets to down Cleveland champion McCartney Kessler in the second round at the Tokyo Open and succumbed to Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals.
Kenin, who has fallen out of the top 150 due to poor results in 2024, rediscovered her touch in Tokyo for her first top-10 win of the year. The former Australian Open champion broke Kasatkina six times and saved all three break points on her serve en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win and a berth in the semifinals.
#3 Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev, the top seed at Swiss Indoors Basel, looked well on his way to another semifinal after straight sets wins in his first two matches. However, his campaign came to an end after a nail-biting loss to Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal on October 25. Shelton took the one-set advantage with a late break of Rublev's serve, only for the latter to restore parity via a second set tie-breaker.
The American halted his Russian rival's comeback in the third set by breaking him once to win the contest 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4. The loss put Rublev's qualification chances for the ATP Finals in jeopardy. The reigning Madrid Open champion currently occupies the last qualification spot for the tournament, with Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov on his heels.
#2 Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev was the top seed at the Erste Bank Open and faced little trouble en route to his quarterfinal clash against Lorenzo Musetti on October 25. The duo was tied 1-1 in head-to-head contests before Vienna, and Zverev looked set to take the lead as he raced to a one-set lead over the Italian.
However, Musetti staged a comeback in the second set with the help of Zverev's inability to convert ample break-point opportunities (1 out of 8). In the deciding set, the Paris Olympics bronze medalist upped the ante as he broke the World No. 2 twice early and eventually closed the match 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. While the loss was disappointing for Zverev, he would surely move on quickly to focus on the Paris Masters and ATP Finals.
#1 Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas' struggles on the 2024 ATP Tour continued at the Swiss Indoors Basel as the Greek endured a quarterfinal exit at the hands of a red-hot Arthur Fils. Seeded third in Basel, Tsitsipas registered confident wins in his first two matches, but his game unraveled against Fils, who was on a 12-match winning streak at 500-level.
Fils played with a lot of freedom and faced no break points on his serve as he wrapped up a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win. The result will hugely harm Tsitsipas' chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals for the sixth year in a row. The 26-year-old is placed 12th in the Race to ATP Finals and needs a miracle at the Paris Masters to make the cut.