Alex de Minaur is through to the semi-finals of the Vienna Open, and with that, his ATP Finals chances have dramatically increased overnight. The second-seed fought back from one set down to defeat qualifier Jakub Menšík 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 to set up a clash against Karen Khachanov. The first bit of good news arrived prior to de Minaur's match when Andrey Rublev bowed out in the quarter-final stage of the Swiss Indoors. That proves significant for the Sydneysider in the context of the year-end ATP Finals held in Turin, Italy - a tournament which de Minaur has never entered as the top-eight best performers in a calendar year.
Rublev's loss in Basel means the world No.8 is 165 points ahead of ninth-ranked de Minaur with the Paris Masters 1000 the last event remaining before the ATP Finals. If de Minaur claims the Vienna title, he will overtake the Russian to lead by 135 points and place himself in a commanding position. After his quarter-final exit at the US Open, the rest of de Minaur's season seemed up in the air after a lingering hip injury suffered at Wimbledon flared up, resulting in the Aussie missing the Davis Cup group stage phase last month.
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