Matteo Berrettini is competing at the Erste Bank Open for the fifth time this year. In each of his previous four appearances, the Italian reached at least the quarter-finals. He is determined to continue that impressive run in 2026 and laid the foundations with a convincing opening victory.
Against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Berrettini relied on his strengths from the outset. Powerful serving and consistently aggressive play put his opponent under pressure early on. The Italian comfortably secured the opening set 6–3 and remained firmly in control throughout the second. Although Etcheverry created several opportunities, Berrettini kept his composure and completed a 6–3, 6–4 victory.
The Italian was pleased with his performance after the match: “I started the match very focused, served well and put him under pressure early.”
In the second round, Berrettini will face either his fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli [4] or Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who received a wild card into the main draw.
De Minaur battles bck after difficult start
In the second match of the day, fifth seed Alex de Minaur faced qualifier Tomas Machac, who advanced from the final round of qualifying after Fabian Marozsan was forced to withdraw through injury.
From the outset, the match was characterised by long rallies, a high tempo and two players fighting for every point. Machac raised his level as the opening set progressed and put de Minaur under pressure with aggressive groundstrokes. After several spectacular exchanges, the Czech increasingly took control and claimed the first set emphatically, 6–1.
Machac continued to play strongly at the beginning of the second set. De Minaur refused to be unsettled, however, raising his level and finding his rhythm in the rallies. The Australian increased the pressure and took the second set 6–4.
Machac again made the better start in the deciding set, but errors gradually began to creep into his game. De Minaur seized his opportunity, rediscovered his best tennis and took complete control. Machac was unable to reproduce the level he had shown in the opening set and eventually went down 6–1, 4–6, 3–6.
De Minaur expressed his relief after the match: “It was an incredibly tough match. I am very happy with the victory and even happier to be back in Vienna.”
