Vienna Open: Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev win campaign-opening matches

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In the ongoing Vienna Open, Spain’s superstar Carlos Alcaraz secured a win in the first match against Russia’s Karen Khachanov. He sealed the win 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the round of 32.

Following the win, he has advanced to the round of 16 and will be in action on October 29.

Earlier, he decided to make an appearance in the 500-level tournament in the Austrian capital at short notice. He has not featured in the event since 2021.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner was out of action from mid-April to August due to a wrist injury and has been producing mixed big of results since his return. He suffered a third-round exit in the Shanghai Masters in October.

Speaking on his win against the Russian, Alcaraz said, “I really enjoyed it, even though I had to run, had to fight, had to sweat a lot. We both played great shots, great points. I would say it was a great match to watch and I’m really happy about it”.

Alcaraz had to dig deep against the 30-year-old power-hitter, recovering from a breakdown to take the first set. In a closely contested second frame, he prevailed in a tight tie-break with a perfectly weighted drop shot to seal the match.

The 23-year-old Spaniard will likely lock horns with Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili or local player Jurij Rodionov in the round of 16.

On the other hand, Alexander Zverev survived four match points to beat Martin Landaluce in a marathon encounter against Spain’s Martin Landaluce. The German registered a win by 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (13-11).

Zverev kept alive his hopes of securing the world number one spot before the year-end.

“(I was pushed) to the absolute limit. Credit to (Landaluce), he played an amazing match,” said the Hamburg-born athlete.

Zverev is assured of finishing the season atop the rankings, but should he win his next encounter against either Tallon Griekspoor or Brandon Nakashima and reach the quarter-finals in Vienna.

He dug in over the course of a topsy-turvy breaker, staving off four match points for Landaluce to claim the win for himself at the fifth time of asking when the world number 67 pushed a forehand wide.

(With AFP Inputs)

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