Carlos Alcaraz took some time to find his feet in his first Erste Bank Open appearance since 2021, but the Spaniard soon dialled in to notch an impressive opening victory in Vienna.
The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings passed a stern test from former finalist Karen Khachanov, earning a 6-4, 7-6(5) triumph to start his title bid at the indoor hard-court event. Alcaraz let slip three match points on return at 5-4 in the second set and then dropped serve himself to leave Khachanov serving to force a decider. But he immediately reclaimed the break and then rallied from 1/3 in the tie-break to seal a two-hour, four-minute triumph.
“It was amazing, to be honest. I already know why I loved the time I played here back in 2021," Alcaraz said. "I left the tournament thinking, ‘This crowd has something special’, and I experienced that today. First round, packed stadium. It was incredible and 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 and Khachanov both produced plenty of elite-level tennis throughout the match, but it was the Spaniard, who also rallied from a break down to win the opening set, who regularly found something extra when he needed it most. Alcaraz finished the match having won 80 per cent (35/44) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and he now leads Khachanov 7-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I was playing great. It was just that game [when I lost serve},” Alcaraz said when asked about the second-set rollercoaster. “Those match points, I could have played them a little better. I would say I played too fast, overplayed a couple of the match points, and then I made a few mistakes.
“But I was still happy and I was pleased about the level I was playing. I just had to be there, fighting, being strong mentally and try to give myself another chance. I did it in the 5-6, took the break point that I had, and obviously it was a great tie-break.”
The 23-year-old Alcaraz is now 22-0 at ATP 500 level since his championship-match defeat to Holger Rune in Barcelona in April 2025. Chasing his fourth tour-level trophy of the season (after the Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo), Alcaraz will take on home favourite Jurij Rodionov or last week’s Almaty finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.
Tommy Paul was also a winner in the bottom quarter of the draw on Tuesday. The seventh seed pulled through a tough opening encounter with former Top-5 star Andrey Rublev, registering a 7-5, 6-2 triumph. Paul, who is currently 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he chases a Nitto ATP Finals debut, will next face Luciano Darderi. Cameron Norrie also advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Francisco Cerundolo.
Adrian Mannarino pulled off a stunning comeback victory to book his second-round berth. The French lefty, who pulled through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, rallied to a 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Ignacio Buse.
