De Minaur made the stronger start and broke Zverev’s serve to move 3-2 ahead in the opening set. Both players then held serve, allowing the Australian to protect his advantage and take the first set 6-4.

Zverev responds in impressive fashion

Zverev produced a clear response in the second set. The top-seeded German broke early for a 2-0 lead before capitalising on a growing number of errors from his opponent to move 4-0 ahead.

De Minaur did not win his first game of the set until he trailed 5-0. Zverev then served out the set 6-1, although he first had to recover from 15-40 and save two break points.

De Minaur holds his nerve in the tie-break

The deciding set developed into an evenly matched contest, with both players holding serve throughout. The semi-final therefore had to be decided in a tie-break.

De Minaur raced into a 6-2 lead and earned four match points. Zverev saved the first two to close the gap to 6-4, but the Australian converted his third opportunity to win the tie-break 7-4 and secure his place in the final.

Sunday’s title match will therefore feature Carlos Alcaraz against Alex de Minaur. Zverev, who will officially become world No. 1 for the first time on Monday, missed out on the anticipated dream final.