Misolic raced to a 4–0 lead in the opening set before Ugo Carabelli managed to turn the momentum, breaking back twice. Both players then held serve until 6–5, when Misolic produced a flawless break to love to seal the set 7–5.
In the second set, Misolic held three break points in each of Ugo Carabelli’s first two service games, but the Argentine escaped both times. The set was eventually decided in a tiebreak, where Misolic prevailed 8–6 to close out the match.
The victory marks the first main-draw win by an Austrian at the Erste Bank Open since Dominic Thiem defeated American Tommy Paul in three sets in the opening round back in 2022.
Misolic happy
“This victory means a lot to me,” said Misolic at the post-match press conference. “It’s a wonderful feeling to experience something like this. The energy the crowd gave me today is something I’ll never forget.”
He’s already looking forward to facing Alex de Minaur, the world No. 7. “It’s great to play against a Top 10 player,” Misolic said. “We’re actually quite similar in style,” he added with a laugh, “but I guess he does it a bit better than I do.”
As for what fans can expect in Wednesday’s final match of the day (not before 8:15 p.m.), Misolic was clear: “Long rallies – but I’ll have to play more aggressively than I did today.”
Norrie ousts Rublev
In the second match of the day, Britain's Cameron Norrie defeated seventh seed Andrey Rublev in just over two hours in three sets, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Norrie could have saved himself some “working time” as he already served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but he had to concede the rebreak. In the deciding set, however, the Brit didn't let anything slip.
Things moved much faster in the two singles matches at Marx Halle. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG) defeated Norwegian wildcard player Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-3, 6-3, and Francisco Cerundolo beat American Alex Michelsen just as easily 6-3, 6-1.
