At times he looked close to “unplayable,” not least on match point. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna on Sunday to win his first title in the Austrian capital. The second seed did not drop a set all week.

It is the 28th title of his career and his fourth of the season, after the Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo. He has now won 28 of his 37 tour-level finals. Alcaraz is also the third Spaniard to win the Erste Bank Open, after Feliciano Lopez in 2004 and David Ferrer in 2015.

A semi-finalist on his only previous appearance, when he lost to Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3 in 2021, Alcaraz stayed unbeaten at ATP 500 level this season. On Saturday, he beat third seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 (2), avenging a 6-3, 7-6 (3) defeat in the Indian Wells semi-finals earlier in the year.

Alcaraz takes the first set in 37 minutes

Alcaraz could not have started better. He raced to a 4-0 lead and took the opening set 6-1 in 37 minutes, converting three of his four break points. De Minaur won only 13 of his 27 points behind his first serve.

De Minaur held firm for longer in the second set, until Alcaraz converted his fourth break point. The Spaniard sealed the title on his first match point at 5-4, following a drop shot and a lob with a forehand winner. It is his second indoor title, after Rotterdam in 2025, where he also beat de Minaur in the final.

De Minaur still searching for a first win over Alcaraz

De Minaur has now lost all seven of their meetings. It was his third defeat by Alcaraz in a final, after a 6-4, 6-4 loss at Queen’s in 2023 and a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 loss in Rotterdam in 2025. The defeat was also his first indoors this season, after 10 straight wins.

The first Australian to reach the final in Vienna, a semi-finalist there for a third year in a row, had beaten top seed Alexander Zverev 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) on Saturday. It was his first win outside team events over the German, who becomes World No. 1 on Monday.

That result lifted him to ninth in the Race to Turin, the last qualifying place with Jannik Sinner out for the season. He stays there on 3,210 points, one ahead of Spain’s Rafael Jodar.

Both men now move on to the Rolex Paris Masters, where they have a first-round bye. Alcaraz is already qualified for Turin, while de Minaur will defend a one-point lead that Jodar will try to overturn from his first match.

Alcaraz’s path to the title

• Carlos Alcaraz (2/WC) d. Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (5)
• Carlos Alcaraz (2/WC) d. Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6 (11)
• Carlos Alcaraz (2/WC) d. Tommy Paul (7) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
• Carlos Alcaraz (2/WC) d. Daniil Medvedev (3) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
• Carlos Alcaraz (2/WC) d. Alex de Minaur (5) 6-1, 6-4

De Minaur’s path to the final

• Alex de Minaur (5) d. Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Alex de Minaur (5) d. Learner Tien 6-4, 6-2
• Alex de Minaur (5) d. Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Alex de Minaur (5) d. Alexander Zverev (1) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4)