Preview Vienna Open Final: Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev meet in clash of former champions

A blockbuster final will take place this Sunday at the Vienna Open, between World No. 2 Jannik Sinner and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev—the top two seeds of the tournament—in a duel between former champions for another ATP 500 trophy.

Sinner arrived back in Europe after an injury at the Shanghai Masters and his time at the Six Kings Slam—where he won the exhibition tournament trophy and $6 million. The Italian advanced to his 8th final of the season, seeking his 4th title.

On the other side, Zverev will play his third final of the season, after finishing as the runner-up at the Australian Open—precisely against Sinner—and lifting his only title of the year at the Munich Open back in April.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion continues to keep up the pace this late in the year and is going for his 4th title of the season. Despite the three months off the court due to the suspension he faced between February and May, Sinner arrives with a notable 47-6 record for the season, with 7 finals played (a 3-4 record). This will be his 8th final of the season, and he will look for his 4th title of the year.

This week, he has not dropped a set yet in his wins against Daniel Altmaier (6-0, 6-2), Flavio Cobolli (6-2, 7-6), Alexander Bublik (6-4, 6-4), and Alex de Minaur (6-3, 6-4). "[I was] trying to play some good tennis, trying to serve very well. The first set was very physical, so I'm happy that I won in two sets today," Sinner said after defeating De Minaur and extending the H2H to 12-0. "He changed a couple of things, which I was ready for today.

"I don't want to say [what]. He knows. He knows for sure. He knows what to do, how to put [me] under pressure and the moment when you don't serve very well, you have to play every ball and every point. He can get very physical, he changed up with the slice a bit with also the slice down the line today and opening the court. Many small things he has changed."

Sinner also boasts a notable record of 20 consecutive wins in indoor hardcourt official matches. The 2023 Vienna champion will seek to extend his streak this Sunday and lift the 22nd title of his career and 7th on indoor hardcourts.

Alexander Zverev returns to his third final of the season, amid a week where his level has steadily improved. He survived a tough first round against Jacob Fearnley (6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5)), and then overcame Matteo Arnaldi in the second round. The German did not have to step onto the court in the quarter-finals after Tallon Griekspoor's injury withdrawal, and he secured a convincing victory over World No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals (6-4, 7-5).

With his strong campaign in Vienna, Zverev became the 4th player to secure his place at the ATP Finals—joining Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic—and will look for his second title of the season, after being crowned champion in Munich in April of this year. Against Musetti, the 3-time major finalist achieved the milestone of his 300th career hardcourt victory and will seek his 25th career title and 9th on indoor hardcourts this Sunday.

This will be the first match between Zverev and Sinner since they faced off in the Australian Open final, where the Italian comfortably took the victory in straight sets to claim his third major title. "I feel like that's mostly my fault because he's been pretty much in every single final possible," Zverev said with a laugh. "I haven't. It's going to be a great challenge. I'm looking forward to it, playing one of the two best players in the world, seeing where my level really is."