Carlos Alcaraz continued his perfect record against Alex de Minaur to clinch his first-ever Vienna Open title. He recorded a thumping 6-1, 6-4 victory in the final to make it four titles for the season. The Spaniard now has a 7-0 lead over de Minaur in the H2H record, and this is his second victory in the matchup this season. But despite the straight-set win, it certainly wasn’t an easy match for Alcaraz as he had to change his approach due to de Minaur’s playstyle.

“My team and I know Alex de Minaur’s level quite well,” he said in his winning speech. “His tennis and playing style are really dangerous. He hits very flat shots that bounce very little and skid a lot across the court, which makes it very difficult to apply the power I like to put into every shot, every ball. Plus, he’s lightning-fast, so you have to earn every point. You can hit a winner against almost any player, but against him, it might not be enough. That’s why I had to be very careful with that aspect and stay really focused.”

While the first set may appear to have been one-sided due to the scoreline, the real story was quite different. There were multiple tight games with many deuces, but Alcaraz found a way to win most of them. He broke de Minaur’s serve in the first game of the match and followed that up by clinching another break in the third game.

Alcaraz soon took a commanding 4-0 lead and was firmly in charge of the set. De Minaur then won his first game, but had his serve broken for the third time as Alcaraz wrapped up the opening set. It appeared that the Spaniard was set for a comprehensive victory, but the second set was far from easy for him.

Alcaraz was once again dominant with his serve and continued to put de Minaur under pressure. But the Australian stood his ground and held his serve for four consecutive games, something he wasn’t able to do in the opening set. With the set level at 4-4, Alcaraz clinched the important ninth game to take the lead.

De Minaur then had a weak service game at the worst time possible as Alcaraz closed out the match after an hour and 27 minutes. He has been in fine form ever since returning from the wrist injury that kept him out of action for over four months.

The 23-year-old played a key role in Team Europe’s triumph at the Laver Cup and then clinched the Japan Open title. It is quite remarkable how Alcaraz has been able to maintain his form despite the long injury layoff. Even de Minaur admitted that it’s always quite a challenge to play against him.

Alex de Minaur steals the crowd with cheeky comment on Carlos Alcaraz

“Let me start with Carlitos. Well done to you, to your team,” he said in his post-match speech. “It’s great to have you back on tour, and all the fans appreciate it. I will say one thing though, it is very annoying to play against you. But as I said many times, you are one of the good ones, one of the great guys on the tour. So, thank you very much.”

This defeat was a big blow to de Minaur’s ATP Finals hopes. He is currently in ninth position with 3,210 points, just a point ahead of Rafael Jodar. He has improved his form significantly in recent weeks and also reached the final of the China Open in October. Everything now depends on the Paris Masters, where the eight players participating in the ATP Finals will be decided.

Alcaraz has already secured his place in the year-end tournament. He stands third on the list with 5,100 points, but has still signed up for the Paris Masters. Both his and de Minaur’s opponents for the opening round are yet to be decided.