Star-studded Wednesday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. And the big favorites – all in the top 10 of the world – got their expected wins. Some faster, some took more time.
Daniil Medvedev (RUS), the no. 6 in the world, opened the star parade on the centercourt, making quick work of Jason Jung (TPE). Medvedev needed only 65 minutes to win 6-3, 6-1.
In the next match, Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world’s number 5, had more problems. German Jan-Lennard Struff even took the first set 7-6(3), before Tsitsipas found his stride in the second to go on and win the match in just under 2 hours 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4.
With his hard-fought 2-set win over Croatian Borna Coric, Novak Djokovic, the world’s number 1, finds himself already in the quarter finals. Djokovic had a tough time, as the tie-break of the first set alone took nearly 20 minutes. In the end, Djokovic prevailed, winning 7-6(11), 6-3.
Also in the quarter finals is 2018 winner Kevin Anderson. The South African beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta quite soundly 7-5, 6-1.
On the Next Gen Court, Italian Jannik Sinner won the youngster duel against Norwegian Casper Ruud 7-6(2), 6-3. In the all-Canadian battle between Next Gen star Felix Auger-Aliassime and qualifier Vasek Pospisil, the veteran kept the upper hand, ousting Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 7-5.