Alcaraz Dazzles Fans, Khachanov In His Vienna Return

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (photo: e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger)

VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 27, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his return to the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open by extending his unbeaten streak of opening-round wins Tuesday afternoon. By the conclusion of his high quality, highly-entertaining first-round match, Alcaraz appeared more than satisfied with his day’s effort. The Spaniard’s fans – and there were plenty of them on hand – showered him with plenty of well-deserved applause.

Playing on Wiener Stadthalle’s Centre Court for the first time in five years, after his run to the Vienna semifinals in 2021 at age 18, the 23-year-old wild card and No. 2 seed improved to 10-0 in opening-round matches this season after defeating 2024 runner-up Karen Khachanov of Russia, who is ranked 24th, 6-4, 7-6 (5), in two hours and four minutes.

After Alcaraz failed to close out the win, letting three match points slip by on return at 5-4 in the second set, he was immediately broken by Khachanov. However, Alcaraz broke back, then rallied from 1-3 down in the second-set tiebreaker. He secured victory No. 34 of the 2026 season on his fourth match-point opportunity with a brilliant, fifth-shot drop volley winner that caught Khachanov off guard and unable to lay his racquet on.

“It was amazing, to be honest,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview with ATP Media, describing the Centre Court atmosphere. “I already know why I loved the time I played here back in 2021. 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.”

Indicative of the quality was a zig-zag, back-and-forth 26-shot rally that Khachanov won to start the sixth game of the second set, about 81 minutes into the first-round battle. The point drew huge applause and the players were rewarded for their hustle with a standing ovation.

By the conclusion of the high-level encounter, Alcaraz hit 36 winners to 29 unforced errors, won 80 percent (35 of 44) of his first-serve points, was broken twice, and converted three of nine break-point chances against Khachanov. He outpointed his opponent, 84-71. By comparison, Khachanov managed to hit 15 winners but committed 22 unforced errors.

“I was playing great. It was just that game [when I lost serve],” Alcaraz said, describing the high-risk, high-reward characteristics of the second set. “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.”

Alcaraz continued his mastery on hard courts around the ATP Tour in 2026, where he’s now 29-4, including titles at the Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo. He also remained undefeated against Khachanov, now 7-0 lifetime and 2-0 this year, after beating the Russian in the Doha quarterfinals, and Tuesday’s triumph moved him to 22-0 in ATP 500-level matches since losing the 2025 Barcelona final to Denmark’s Holger Rune.

Next, Alcaraz will be back on Centre Court on Thursday against either 137th-ranked Austrian wild card Jurij Rodionov or Almaty finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, ranked No. 95, who play Wednesday on Centre Court.

Zverev pushed to the limit, outlasts Landaluce

World No. 2 Alexander Zverev opened his Erste Bank Open campaign against 20-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce on Centre Court Tuesday evening with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (11) victory that stretched across three hours and five minutes. 

Zverev was pushed to the limit by the #NextGenATP Landaluce, a native from Madrid, who was playing him for the first time. By the end of their dramatic third-set tiebreaker, which lasted more than 21 minutes, Zverev (63-16) had survived four match points to record his 63rd victory of the season. It came on his fifth match-point opportunity.

The 2021 Vienna champion, who can become World No. 1 on Monday for the first time in his career if he advances to the quarterfinals, reached the second round for the sixth time in as many appearances in the Austrian capital city.

Landaluce came close to becoming the first player to oust a No. 1 seed in Vienna in the first round since Philipp Petzschner defeated Stan Wawrinka in 2008. However, by the end, the 29-year-old German recovered from a dip in his levels during the second set and held his ground at the end, after Landaluce saved two match points and won a 14-point 12th game that lasted 10 minutes to get the match to a decisive tie-break. It was Zverev’s 15th career triumph in Vienna.

Zverev, who fired eight aces and hit 41 winners overall, improved to 6-0 in Vienna first-round matches and is 39-1 versus players ranked outside the Top 30 since March. He outpointed Landaluce 113-107.

“[I was pushed] to the absolute limit,” said Zverev, during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “Martin played a helluva match. The first forehand after the serve was unbelievable, I barely touched a ball. So, definitely credit to him, he played an amazing match.

“I know I have to improve, for sure. It was not perfect from me, but he pushed me today, absolutely.”

In the second round, Zverev will face either Brussels champion Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who is ranked 50th, or World No. 17 Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who face off on Wednesday.

 

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Around the Wiener Stadthalle

• No. 7 seed Tommy Paul of the United States opened play on Centre Court Tuesday and rolled past 2020 Vienna champion Andrey Rublev of Russia, 7-5, 6-2, in an hour and 30 minutes. The American became the third player on the ATP Tour to earn 45 wins this season, following Alexander Zverev (62) and Daniil Medvedev (49).

Paul (250-158) also recorded the 250th tour-level win of his career, becoming the third active American man to achieve the feat after Taylor Fritz (374) and Frances Tiafoe (280).

“Let’s go, baby! I like that,” Paul said during his on-court interview, when told by ATP Media that he had achieved the milestone victory. “I’ve been on the road for a long time. I’m glad I’m stacking some wins. It’s been a good year. I’ve played a lot of matches and won a lot of matches. The season is not done. Hopefully, we can keep stacking a couple more.”

Although the World No. 22 Rublev brought a 5-1 career head-to-head into their contest, it was one-way traffic after Paul wrapped up the 61-minute first set. He denied Rublev, one of three former champions in the field along with Medvedev and Zverev, his second Top 20 win of the season.

Instead, Paul (45-20) controlled the court and moved the ball around, which left Rublev (33-22) shaking his head time and again. He finished with 36 winners to 17 unforced errors, converted four of 11 break-point opportunities and outpointed Rublev 78-59.

“I thought I returned pretty well,” Paul said. “Early in the match, he hit me pretty good with the wide serve. I tried to cut it off and put a lot of returns on the court. … I thought I played aggressively and pretty well. … I like the surface here.”

Next, Paul will face No. 23 Luciano Darderi of Italy on Thursday for a berth in the quarterfinal round.

• No. 73 Adrian Mannarino of France, the oldest player in the singles main draw at age 38, rallied from losing a bagel first set to No. 32 Ignacio Buse of Peru, then rallied to pull through a 0-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory in two hours and 28 minutes on Glaubandich Court. 

Mannarino (at 38 years and three months) is the oldest player in tournament history to win a match, surpassing Gaël Monfils (38 years 1 month), who set the record in 2024. It earned Mannarino a return visit to Glaubandich Court to face No. 8 seed Jakub Mensik on Wednesday.

• No. 41 Cameron Norrie of Great Britain broke a five-match losing streak and won his fifth career match in Vienna after upsetting World No. 19 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 6-4, 6-1, in 91 minutes on Glaubandich Court. Norrie outpointed Cerundolo 73-59. Next, Norrie will face either World No. 5 and third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who is coming off winning back-to-back titles in Almaty, or No. 42 Daniel Merida of Spain.

• Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina qualified for the doubles main draw with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Bart Stevens of the Netherlands in one hour and 28 minutes on Glaubandich Court. Also, advancing to the main draw was Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Luke Johnson of Great Britain, who defeated Skander Mansouri of Tunisia and Maximilian Neuchrist of Austria, 7-5, 7-6 (6), in one hour and 37 minutes. 

Tuesday’s Erste Bank Open results

Wednesday’s Erste Bank Open order of play

By the numbers

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain is 29-4 on hard courts this season, including titles at Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo.

“Quotable …”

“It is never easy against Matteo, but I am very pleased with my performance. My full focus is now on this tournament, but at the same time, I am obviously delighted to represent Italy in Bologna. My whole family will be there.”

– Luciano Darderi of Italy, as quoted by the Erste Bank Open website, after defeating fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the second round against either No. 7 seed Tommy Paul or Andrey Rublev. Earlier Monday, Darderi learned he had been selected for Italy’s Davis Cup team for the Final 8 in Bologna.

 

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