Tennis essentials for 15 October: Zverev into the semi-finals and closing on No. 1, Monfils gives up his farewell, 24-year ban for Milicevic

Two career endings crossed paths on Thursday. Alexander Zverev took care of his Shanghai quarter-final and watches the world No. 1 ranking come closer; Gaël Monfils, officially retired since 5 October, has given up his farewell tournaments without a word. The day in five minutes, with the ITIA sanctions and David Ferrer’s announced departure.

Zverev settles De Minaur, No. 1 follows

Alexander Zverev saw off Alex De Minaur in the Shanghai Masters 1000 quarter-finals (6-4, 6-4, in 1h15) and meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals, the man who advanced after Arthur Gea’s retirement; the German leads their head-to-head six wins to one. Certain to become world No. 1 for the first time in his career and to finish the year in that position, he owes it to Jannik Sinner’s absence, away from the courts since his Wimbledon title on 12 July. “That I clinched the year-end No. 1 is of course down to Jannik’s absence, unfortunately,” he acknowledged. For Yannick Noah, “all of a sudden a small opportunity came up this year, and he was ready. He took it, and he deserves it.” The portrait by We Love Tennis.

Monfils gives up Lyon, Vienna and Paris

Removed from the active players list since 5 October, Gaël Monfils, 40, will play none of his three farewell tournaments: not the Lyon ATP 250 next week, not the Vienna ATP 500, not the Paris Masters in early November, reports L’Équipe, which cites a “personal issue” and says he will not speak before the beginning of next week. The 24 October exhibition at the LDLC Arena in Décines stays on, with Lucas Pouille replacing Monfils alongside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon. “Above all I hope he is doing well, because I imagine he wanted to play in Paris,” worried Daniil Medvedev. Our report on the official retirement, and his Lyon withdrawal.

Match-fixing: 24 years for Milicevic, Folliot speaks

The International Tennis Integrity Agency has suspended Serbia’s Stefan Milicevic, 29, until October 2050: six fixed matches and six attempted fixes between 2022 and 2024, a corruption network fed by recruiting other players, a $70,000 fine, and a default judgment after seven attempts at contact went unanswered. The same day, Quentin Folliot, banned for 20 years in December 2025 for 27 anti-corruption programme violations, opened up to Le Parisien: “I always refused, until I told myself it was the only way to keep playing.” Our report, and the testimony relayed by RMC Sport.

Gea: a quarter-final over in five games

Arthur Gea, 21 and ranked 56th, retired at 4-1 down against Davidovich Fokina after a medical timeout for his right hip and leg: five games, and his first Masters 1000 quarter-final was over. To get there he had beaten Ben Shelton, ranked 4th, then Jakub Mensik, 15th; outside the top 200 in January, he will enter the top 50. No recovery timeline has been given. Our account of the quarter-final.

Alcaraz adds Vienna to his calendar

Beaten in the Shanghai third round by Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, Carlos Alcaraz has reshaped his end of season: the Spaniard, who was due to return only at the Paris Masters in early November before the Turin Finals and the Davis Cup, will play the Vienna ATP 500 in late October to build indoor rhythm. The other move of the day: the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, scheduled for 21, 22 and 24 October, has been postponed to 27-30 December for security reasons. The details by We Love Tennis.

Ferrer steps away from Spain’s Davis Cup team

Captain of Spain’s Davis Cup team since 2023, David Ferrer will leave his post after the Finals phase, in Bologna next month. “The reasons for this decision are purely personal and come from my desire to start a new chapter,” wrote the three-time Davis Cup winner as a player (2008, 2009, 2011) on his social media; his team lost last year’s final to Italy in Bologna. Spain will face Austria in the quarter-finals there, with Carlos Alcaraz expected. The announcement by sports.fr.