Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Paris Masters due to an adductor problem, handing world number one Novak Djokovic a walkover into the quarter-finals.

Djokovic has played only once on the ATP Tour since losing the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev on September 12.

That defeat at Flushing Meadows ended Djokovic's hopes of achieving a calendar Grand Slam, though the Serbian has returned to action for the final few weeks of the 2021 season.

With the ATP Finals coming up, Djokovic headed to Paris looking to regain the title he claimed in his last appearance in the tournament back in 2019. He needed three sets, but overcame Marton Fucsovics 6-2 4-6 6-3 in his first match.

He has won the Paris Masters on five occasions and is the top seed this time around, with defending champion Medvedev seeded second. 

Monfils, seeded 15th, beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Adrian Mannarino en route to the last 16, but confirmed to the media on Thursday that he had been advised not to continue.

Djokovic will face the winner of Cameron Norrie, who recently triumphed at Indian Wells, and Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.

The field has already been cleared of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who retired hurt when facing Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.

Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz put in an impressive display to upstage eighth seed Jannik Sinner in straights sets in the third round of the ATP Paris Masters on Wednesday.

Alcaraz was on top for most of his 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 victory, winning 80 per cent of his first-serve points and 75 per cent of net points against Sinner.

Sinner showed determination to stay in both sets, with the Italian saving nine of the 11 break points he faced, but it was ultimately in vain.

The European Open winner will be among those sweating as the race to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin heats up.

After the win, 18-year-old Alcaraz said: "I'm so happy for this win as Jannik was fighting for a spot at the ATP Finals. It's my third Top 10 win of the year.

"I think Jannik and I will have a great rivalry in the future... I think that I played really, really aggressive, more than him. I think that was one of the keys."

Alcaraz will now face qualifier Hugo Gaston in the next round after the Frenchman impressively knocked out 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5.

Interesting day for Turin hopefuls

It was a mixed day for others looking to secure a spot at the season-ending ATP Finals later this month as Felix Auger-Aliassime – ranked 12th in the ATP Race to Turin – lost in straight sets to Dominik Koepfer, who added to his impressive list of victims after beating three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray in the first round.

Koepfer will play another Turin hopeful, the 10th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz after he beat Tommy Paul in straight sets.

Cameron Norrie also impressed in his 6-3 6-4 win over Reilly Opelka, which was his 50th tour-level win of the year.

Taylor Fritz awaits after the American stunned fifth seed Andrey Rublev 7-5 7-6 (7-2).

Medvedev and Zverev ease through but Tsitsipas out

Second seed and US Open champion Daniil Medvedev had a routine first match of the tournament as he swept past Ilya Ivashka 7-5 6-4, while Olympic Games gold medallist and fourth seed Alexander Zverev also had few problems against Dusan Lajovic 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

However, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas exited after retiring hurt with an apparent arm injury against Alexei Popyrin in the first set with the score at 4-2 to the Australian.

Popyrin will now face fellow countryman James Duckworth, who followed up his impressive win against 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory against Lorenzo Musetti.

Elsewhere, 11th seed Diego Schwartzman was shocked by qualifier Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4).

There were also wins for 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov against Karen Kachanov, and Sebastian Korda over Marin Cilic.

Gael Monfils will go up against world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round after the experienced French 15th seed came from behind to beat compatriot Adrian Mannarino 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

France's Billie Jean King Cup defence ended at the hands of the Russian Tennis Federation, who will meet the United States in the semi-finals after Wednesday's play in Prague. 

Clara Burel put France on course for the 3-0 victory they needed to advance from Group A with a three-set victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova, but Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova outlasted Alize Cornet in the second rubber to ensure a new champion will be crowned. 

Pavlyuchenkova saved six of 10 break points and racked up an impressive 34 winners en route to a crucial 5-7 6-4 6-2 success against Cornet. 

"I'm so, so happy and so proud of myself because I think it was an incredible match. It was very good tennis but more importantly I think it was an amazing fighting spirit from both of us," said Pavlyuchenkova. 

"We were like two tigers. Nobody wanted to give the other anything and I think that's what matters. That's the sport we're playing." 

Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova comfortably defeated Cornet and Burel in the doubles to consign the reigning champions to a 2-1 defeat. 

The RTF will go up against the USA in the first semi-final, with the Americans comfortably seeing off Spain in the singles rubbers. 

Sloane Stephens bested Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-4 6-4 before Danielle Collins swept Sara Sorribes Tormo aside 6-1 6-0 in under an hour. 

Collins won 83 per cent of points behind her first serve and forced Sorribes Tormo into 24 errors during a resounding victory. 

Spain avoided a 3-0 defeat, though, with Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova beating Caroline Dolehide and CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3 6-4 in the doubles rubber. 

Belinda Bencic fought back to beat Angelique Kerber in a blockbuster showdown and help Switzerland eliminate Germany on day two of the Billie Jean King Cup in Prague.

Germany lost to hosts Czech Republic on the opening day and were brushed aside 3-0 by Switzerland on Tuesday, with world number nine Kerber losing 5-7 6-2 6-2 to Bencic.

Kerber was carrying an injury and was outlasted by the Olympic gold medallist, with that triumph coming after Viktorija Golubic defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4 7-5.

Golubic and Jil Teichmann added further gloss to the scoreline by overcoming Anna-Lena Friedsam and Nastasja Mariana Schunk in the doubles.

Switzerland will now meet the Czech Republic in a winners-takes-all contest to determine who finishes top of Group D.

The upset of the day came in Group B as Australia beat Belgium 2-1, with Daria Gavrilova kicking things off by beating Greet Minnen 6-4 1-6 6-4.

Storm Sanders then battled back to beat Elise Mertens 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0, rendering Mertens and Minnen's doubles win nothing more than a consolation. 

In Group A, Russia cruised to a 3-0 win over Canada.

Daria Kasatkina beat Carol Zhao 6-3 6-1 and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was too strong for Rebecca Marino as she prevailed in three sets.

Slovakia top Group C, meanwhile, after beating the United States 2-1. Shelby Rogers fell 6-4 6-4 to Viktoria Kuzmova before Danielle Collins levelled with a 6-3 6-2 win against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

That set up a decider in the doubles, which went the distance as the Slovakian pair of Kuzmova and Tereza Mihalikova prevailed 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 12-10 in a thriller with Caroline Dolehide and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Novak Djokovic recovered from a second-set blip to emerge victorious 6-2 4-6 6-3 in his first match since the US Open at the Paris Masters.

Victory in Paris would see Djokovic – competing for the first time since September's loss to Daniil Medvedev in the Flushing Meadows final – clinch the year-end number one ranking for a record seventh time.

Djokovic looked to be on course for a routine victory to start his campaign after comfortably taking the first set against Marton Fucsovics in their second-round contest on Tuesday.

However, the top seed's Hungarian opponent fought back to force a decider, hitting 13 winners to seven unforced errors in the second set.

But Djokovic – a record five-time Paris Masters champion – ensured a remarkable turnaround was not forthcoming, breaking Fucsovics twice in the third and, after letting one match point slip, clinching his second to secure victory.

Felix fights back

Ranked 12th in the ATP Race to Turin, Felix Auger-Aliassime needs to lift the trophy in Paris and hope Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner do not reach the latter stages to make it to the ATP Finals.

Auger-Aliassime risked falling at the first hurdle on Tuesday as the ninth seed was forced to fight back to defeat Gianluca Mager 4-6 6-4 6-1.

"I had difficulty with my pace at the beginning of the match," said Auger-Aliassime. "I didn't hit enough first serves so I had a bit of pressure on my second serve.

"So I could have served better in the first set. I [had] a poor game at four-all and I got broken, but even before that there were moments at 30-all it was a bit hot and a bit tight. I think I relaxed. I found a better pace at the beginning of the second set, and it went even better as the match went forward."

He will next face Dominik Koepfer in the second round following the German's stunning win over Andy Murray on Monday.

Alcaraz sets up Sinner clash

Sinner will have an extremely testing second-round clash after Carlos Alcaraz came from behind to see off wild card Pierre Hugues-Herbert.

Alcaraz let slip a 4-2 lead in the first set to lose that on a tie-break but won six straight points in a second-set breaker before eventually battling to a 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 win in two hours, 53 minutes.

"It's not easy to play against a home player," Alcaraz said. "I think we played a good level and it was a great match, so I am happy to win. He has a great serve, so I had to return better and remain focus. I think that was the key. I am playing at a good level and I want to finish the year strong."

Diego Schwartzman – the 11th seed – needed three sets to see off John Millman, 15th seed Gael Monfils reversed a one-set deficit against Miomir Kecmanovic and 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov survived a three-setter with Richard Gasquet.

But one seed did fall on Tuesday, Roberto Bautista Agut (14) edged by James Duckworth in three sets.

Dominic Thiem has confirmed he has been given a coronavirus vaccine and will return to action in Abu Dhabi next month with the objective of playing in the 2022 Australian Open.

The 2020 US Open champion has been out of action since suffering a wrist injury at the Mallorca Championships in June.

Thiem on Tuesday revealed he has made good progress with his recovery and will play in the World Tennis Championship, an exhibition event that will be staged from December 16-18.

The 28-year-old had stated he wanted to wait for a Novavax jab, but was urged by Austrian minister for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection Wolfgang Muckstein to take an alternative vaccine as his preferred choice would not be available until next year.

Thiem says he has now been vaccinated and is relishing getting back on court as he eyes a grand slam return in Melbourne in January.

"I am very happy to announce that my recovery is going well. The MRI I did today showed that my wrist injury has improved significantly," Thiem tweeted on Tuesday.

"A couple of weeks ago I started playing with soft balls and was able to switch to normal tennis balls during yesterday's practice session. My team and I strongly believe that I'll be ready to make my comeback later this year.

"I'll be returning to competition in December and will be playing the MWTC 2021 in Abu Dhabi – with the objective to return to the Tour for the 2022 Australian Open.

"Needless to say that the vaccine is needed to play both events, and in my case I have already been vaccinated. I saw recently some news about this and I had to make it very clear that I would get vaccinated. Hopefully the next time things won't be taken this far [sic] as I saw last week..."

Rafael Nadal is also set to return from injury in Abu Dhabi.

Canada sensationally upset top-ranked France on day one of the inaugural Billie Jean King Cup, winning a decider in the doubles to secure victory at the O2 Arena in Prague on Monday.

The tournament, formerly known as the Fed Cup, kicked off in exciting fashion with three of the four ties going to a final rubber match.

The most notable result of the day came in Group A as the lowest-ranked team Canada beat the reigning champions France 2-1. A singles win for world number 353 Francoise Abanda against Fiona Ferro was followed by the pairing of Gabriela Dabrowski and Rebecca Marino defeating Clara Burel and Alize Cornet to clinch it.

Elsewhere, Group D began with hosts Czech Republic beating Germany 2-1, despite world number three Barbora Krejcikova losing to world number nine Angelique Kerber in the second match.

The Czechs have won six of the last nine Fed Cups, and will be hoping to reclaim the crown in their home tournament.

History was made by Belgium's Greet Minnen in Group B as she became the first person to win a match in the competition’s new format, beating Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus 6-2 6-2. Elise Mertens sealed the win for the Belgians immediately after, though Belarus won the dead rubber doubles contest.

In Group C, Spain were able to overcome Slovakia in their deciding doubles match as Sara Sorribes Tormo and Carla Suarez Navarro beat Viktoria Kuzmova and Tereza Mihalikova.

Day two sees Canada take on the Russian Tennis Federation, while Australia start their tournament against Belgium, Slovakia face USA, and Germany will look to get back on track against Switzerland.

Andy Murray was defeated in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday following a three-set battle with Dominik Koepfer.

Murray, given a wildcard entry, was initially drawn against Jenson Brooksby but the American withdrew just a couple of hours before the match was due to start because of an abdominal injury.

The three-time major singles champion instead faced German Koepfer, who triumphed 6-4 5-7 7-6 (11-9) in a contest lasting just over three hours.

Lucky loser Koepfer, in his debut in the main draw, served for the match at 5-3 in the second set but was broken to love as the contest turned topsy-turvy.

Murray had seven match points in the decider, including five in the tie-breaker, but the 2016 champion could not convert and left the court looking disconsolate.

"I was about to go back to the hotel and then one of the ATP Tour Managers texted me, 'Dom, you in? You're playing against Andy Murray'," Koepfer said. "Honestly, I was a little nervous.

"I didn't expect to play today, I was hoping that someone was going to pull out tomorrow. But a night match here in Paris, a lot of fans, they had an unbelievable crowd, the first time for me for a while. It's been a great day. Unexpected, but it worked out and I'm happy."

There was more disappointment for the United Kingdom as Dan Evans saw a strong start yield nothing as he lost in three sets to Alexander Bublik, who goes on to face sixth seed Casper Ruud.

Djokovic set for Fucsovics test

World number one Novak Djokovic will begin his campaign against Marton Fucsovics, who outlasted Fabio Fognini in a match lasing nearly two hours and 45 minutes.

Fucsovics dominated the first set but was engaged in a far tougher battle for the rest of the contest before winning 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5).

The Hungarian is 0-3 against Djokovic in his career, last losing to the 20-time major winner at the quarter-final stage of Wimbledon. The winner of this latest contest could face a last-16 meeting with Adrian Mannarino, who won in straight sets against Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Ilya Ivashka overcame Albert Ramos-Vinolas to secure a meeting with second seed Daniil Medvedev, while Dusan Lajovic will face Alexander Zverev after defeating Mackenzie McDonald.

Norrie brings up Tour century to keep Finals in sight

Tenth seed Cameron Norrie kept his chances alive of qualifying for the ATP Finals after a commanding 6-2 6-1 defeat of Federico Delbonis.

The Briton's victory, his 100th on the Tour, could help him to close the gap in the race for the year-ending tournament in Turin. Norrie started the week in 11th place, 140 points adrift of Jannik Sinner in the eighth and final automatic qualifying spot.

"It's obviously a great milestone and it shows I have been on the Tour and have a little bit of experience now," said Norrie. "It's a nice bonus, but there is a lot of tennis in the year to be played. It's a great achievement."

One man who will not qualify for the Finals is Aslan Karatsev. Last month's champion in Moscow lost in three sets to American Sebastian Korda, meaning he cannot now catch the top eight.

Rafael Nadal intends to make his Tour comeback next month and plans to play at the 2022 Australian Open.

The 20-time major champion has not played since a defeat to Lloyd Harris at the Citi Open in August.

The 35-year-old, who withdrew from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals, also pulled out of the US Open due to a recurring foot injury.

Nadal has spent time training in Mallorca this month following treatment in Barcelona and said he was not sure when he would make his return to action.

Speaking at a sponsor event in Paris, Nadal said he hopes to play at the World Tennis Championship next month before a possible tilt at the first grand slam of next year, an event he has won just once back in 2009.

"My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and then in a tournament before Australia and then the Australian Open. That's my goal," Nadal said. "We're working hard to make it happen.

"The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but I'm already training almost an hour and a half a day so that's positive. Some days are better than others, but I'm starting to have a lot more positive days than negative ones.

"So, I'm on the right track. I'm training, I'm feeling better. I'm back on the court."

World number eight Casper Ruud and world number 13 Denis Shapovalov are two of the big names from the ATP Tour to have confirmed they will play in Abu Dhabi in the event that runs from December 16-18.

Women's Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic and surprise US Open champion Emma Raducanu have also signed up to make their tournament debuts.

The Australian Open, won this year by Novak Djokovic, is due to start on January 17.

Novak Djokovic is unwilling to commit to January's Australian Open as the defending champion awaits confirmation on travel and entry requirements amid Victoria's vaccine mandate.

The state of Victoria, where the year's opening grand slam takes place at Melbourne Park, has introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes and across most industries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 Australian Open went ahead, albeit in February instead of January, and without fans for most of the tournament following a snap lockdown of Melbourne due to COVID-19.

Last week, Australia prime minister Scott Morrison said unvaccinated players would be allowed to contest the slam if they completed two weeks in quarantine, though Victoria premier Dan Andrews dismissed those comments, insisting athletes would not be granted access unless they received the COVID-19 vaccine.

A record nine-time Australian Open champion, world number one Djokovic remains non-committal over his looming title defence.

"Well, I'm going to decide on whether I go to Australia or not after I see the official statement from Tennis Australia," Djokovic said as he prepares for the Paris Masters – his first tournament since losing to Daniil Medvedev in September's US Open final.

"Right now, we don't have any official announcement or statement. So until that's out, I won't be talking about this anymore, because I don't want to be part of the stories about the assumptions and what-ifs.

"When official condition requirements to travel to Australia and play in Australia are out, then obviously I'll see what I personally do with that, and also the bigger group of the players, you know, because the situation is obviously different in Australia than most parts of the world."

World number two Medvedev also refused to confirm his Australian Open participation.

"I always said it, that I really like Novak's answer about this. I want to keep my medical, no matter if it's about vaccine, leg injury, head injury... I want to keep my medical private for a reason," Medvedev said.

"I feel like tennis is such a brutal sport where you're always one on one against your opponent, and any information you give him can go against you.

"If you're playing Australia, it's obvious you're vaccinated. So that's why I said I'm willing to play Australia, but I won't say if you'll see me there, but we're going to see in January."

World number one Novak Djokovic said he will return to action at the Paris Masters blessed to be a more "humble" tennis player.

The Serbian makes his first appearance since his US Open final defeat to Daniil Medvedev at the ATP 1000 tournament in the French capital.

That defeat in New York cost Djokovic the chance to become only the third man to win a singles calendar slam by winning all four majors in the same year.

Djokovic also missed the opportunity to move top of the all-time Grand Slam tournament winners list and remains joint-top alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 titles.

However, the 34-year-old – whose status for the 2021 Australian Open remains unknown – was phlegmatic when he reflected on his loss to Russian world number two Medvedev.

"In a most ideal scenario, I would have won all four of them," Djokovic told a media conference. "Knowing I was so close gives me great encouragement for the future, but it also makes me feel humble about my game, about my career.

"It gives me a kind of reality check where I have to go back to the practice court and really understand what needs to be done so that I could improve.

"This was not an ordinary loss considering the circumstances. I have learned over the years to deal with losses in such way that I treat them as great opportunities for growth.

"I feel that the US Open loss in the final has arrived arguably at the worst or at the best time for me, in a way.

"I'm disappointed that I lost the match, but I feel like I was blessed to experience love from the crowd and support from the stadium that I have never experienced before in my life in New York, and actually not in many places around the world.

"That kind of energy that I received from the crowd from the moment I stepped on the court until I stepped out is a win for life."

Djokovic, who has won four of the last eight Paris Masters tournaments, claimed the prospect of ending the year as the world number one ahead of Medvedev will motivate him.

Should he do so then Djokovic would leapfrog Pete Sampras for the most year-end number one finishes in history with seven.

He will face either Italian Fabio Fognini or Hungarian Marton Fucsovics having received a bye through the first round.

"The year-end number one is on the line between Medvedev and myself, and I'm in a pretty good position," added Djokovic, who has won 85 ATP tour titles.

"That's obviously the goal for the end of the season other than trying to do well in the Davis Cup with the national team. So hopefully I can have a strong finish of the season and clinch that year-end number one.

"I’m pleased to be back. I have been training really well the past couple of weeks. And I have had plenty of success in Paris over the years, so that gives me enough reason to believe that I can do well.

"The lack of match play could be dangerous, so I have to really make sure that I start off my first match very well with a good intensity and build my form."

Donna Vekic ended a personal trophy drought as she beat Clara Tauson in the WTA Courmayeur Open final in Italy on Sunday.

The 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory saw Croatian Vekic secure a third WTA Tour title of her career, and a first since 2017 when she triumphed at the Nottingham Open.

Tauson, who beat Jelena Ostapenko to win the Luxembourg Open in September, was unable to add to the two WTA titles she has won this year.

An unsteady start from both players saw service breaks in each of the first four games. Vekic finally held at the third attempt, before breaking Tauson again.

At 5-2 down in the first set, Tauson came alive, finally holding serve before breaking Vekic for a third time. The 18-year-old briefly showed the heart that had seen her save five match points in her semi-final victory over Liudmila Samsonova as she denied Vekic three set points.

The main issue for the 18-year-old Dane in the first set was her first serve, on which she only won 52 per cent of points, compared to Vekic's 79.2 per cent success rate.

Having forced a tie-break, Tauson gave herself a mountain to climb again as her opponent won the first six points. Despite a mini fightback from the teenager, Vekic was able to finally see the first set out.

The 25-year-old, who had not lost a set on her way to the final, broke again in the third game of the second set. Tauson had fought from a set down in both her quarter-final and semi-final, but she was unable to repeat the trick as Vekic eased to another straight-sets victory.

Marin Cilic won his 20th title on the ATP Tour by battling past Taylor Fritz in the final of the St Petersburg Open on Sunday.

A decade on from lifting the trophy for the first time, Cilic outlasted his American opponent 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 in a gruelling contest lasting two hours and 23 minutes.

It took the Croatian to four tournament wins on Russian soil, the 33-year-old having also twice won the crown in Moscow, while it also saw him join truly elite company in the men's game.

Only five other active male players have won 20 or more titles: Roger Federer (103), Rafael Nadal (88), Novak Djokovic (85), Andy Murray (46) and Juan Martin del Potro (22).

"Coming 10 years after winning in 2011 and also winning now, it's so, so special for me, especially this part of my career," said Cilic. "Having now a family, two sons, I want to absolutely dedicate this trophy to my newborn son."

Cilic had the chance to reach 20 titles last week in Moscow, only to lose in straight sets to home favourite Aslan Karatsev.

With 12 aces and 78 per cent of first-serve points won, the former world number three was aggressive in his efforts to make sure this was not another missed opportunity.

After taking the first set, Cilic twice led by a break in the second but allowed Fritz to level the contest and keep alive his hopes of a first title since Eastbourne two years ago.

Fritz went a break ahead in the decider but Cilic battled back to level at 4-4. A double fault from the world number 28 gave Cilic the chance to serve out the contest, and he duly obliged, converting his first match point with a volley.

Anett Kontaveit failed to read the script as she beat Simona Halep to win the Transylvania Open and qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time.

Kontaveit went into Sunday's final knowing victory over top seed Halep would earn her the last place in the season-ending tournament in Guadalajara.

The Estonian duly denied Ons Jabeur a WTA Finals spot, beating Romanian home favourite Halep 6-2 6-3 in Cluj.

Second seed Kontaveit has now come out on top in 10 consecutive matches, having won the Kremlin Cup last weekend, and this was her fourth title of a stellar season.

Halep had not dropped a set in her previous three meetings with Kontaveit, but the former world number one was soundly beaten to miss out on a fourth title on home soil – five years after her last in Bucharest.

The 25-year-old Kontaveit took her run to 26 victories in her last 28 matches, winning 70.6 per cent of points behind her first serve to Halep's 44.1 per cent.

Kontaveit broke three times in a one-sided first set and fought back from 2-0 down in the second to continue her brilliant run.

Halep has not won a title since September 2020, having been unfortunate with injuries this year.

Alexander Zverev captured his fifth title of the season at the Vienna Open after defeating Frances Tiafoe 7-5 6-4 in Sunday's final.

The Olympic champion claimed more silverware in Vienna, having also triumphed in Madrid, Cincinnati and Acapulco in 2021.

The world number four, who claimed his 300th tour-level career win against Alex de Minaur earlier in the week, is now 25-2 since exiting the fourth round at Wimbledon in July.

Tiafoe was appearing in his first ATP 500 final having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner along the way.

The world number 49 stuck with Zverev during a tight opening set, in which breaks were exchanged early on.

However, the German broke again in game 12 to draw first blood, and went on to hit eight aces during the second set.

Tiafoe produced an inspired turnaround from 5-2 down in the second set of his semi-final victory over Sinner.

But there was to be no fairytale finish for the American, who was seeking a second ATP title and first since the 2018 Delray Beach Open.

Zverev subsequently held his nerve to move level with Casper Ruud on five titles for the season, the most on the ATP Tour this year.