VIENNA/WASHINGTON,October 30, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
From first ball to last ball, the 9,600 fans who packed Wiener Stadthalle for Sunday’s final of the 49th edition of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria, were treated to an epic Top-5 battle between World No. 4 Jannik Sinner of Italy and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev of Russia. It was won by Sinner, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-3, in three hours and four minutes, and rewarded the 22-year-old South Tyrolean with his fourth ATP Tour singles title of the season and 10th of his career.
Afterward, Sinner said his title win over Medvedev would stay in his memory for a long time. “It was an extremely difficult game mentally and physically,” he said. One need only look at the iconic, 18-minute fourth game of the deciding set, won by Sinner, which lasted 32 points and included 13 deuce points.
The Sinner takes it all 🎶 pic.twitter.com/fZPqsIuKTi
— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 29, 2023
“It was certainly one of my best matches – it’s hard to say if it was the best because every game is different. But to play such a level in a final, that’s very special.”
Sinner, who earned first-prize money of €450,650 and 500 ATP ranking points, promised to come back to Vienna next year to defend his title.
“This is a super tournament and they helped me here with a wild card when I would not have been able to get into the field in terms of ranking,” Sinner said. “I have always been looked after well in Vienna. I feel very, very comfortable here. My family and many friends were here this week. The tournament will continue to be very important for me in the coming years.”
What a champ 🤩 @janniksin powers through an exhausting 3 hour match and still has some energy left for his fans 🥰💙 pic.twitter.com/yZ7kiD4IXm
— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 29, 2023
Despite losing the title match to Sinner, Medvedev was upbeat. “On the whole, it was a great match from which we can both take a lot of confidence for the future,” he said. “In the third set, I felt a little more tired. [Jannik] was still able to play great balls while running; that wasn’t the case with me anymore.”
Looking back, Medvedev spoke positively of his Vienna experience. “I like Vienna,” he said. “The tournament, the food, the hotel, and I always play well here. So, I will probably come back again.”
Thanks for this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G final, gentlemen! 🤩@janniksin & @DaniilMedwed really gave it their all and tennis fans all over the 🌍 were delighted by this high-class performance 🎾💥
Hope to see you again next year! 💙 pic.twitter.com/SQzSAjUZOK
— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 29, 2023
Words like Sinner’s and Medvedev’s are music to the ears to Vienna tournament director Herwig Straka. During a Sunday press conference prior to the singles final, Straka spoke in praiseworthy tones about this year’s Erste Bank Open.
“It went really well across the board,” Straka said. “We had a record year last year. It was hard to beat that again, but we did it. Together with Erste Bank, we changed the design, and this has generated positive feedback worldwide.
“In addition, the tournament with the four top players in the semifinals went extremely well and ‘Erste Bank Open 2 Go’ has also developed very well. The crowd there was greater than in previous years. On Thursday, it was unbelievable. Of course, we are pleased when this concept works out in this way. With 73,000 spectators this year, we were able to increase again compared to last year, and we are proud of that.”
Top seeds in the semis 💪🔥
For the first time since 1994, the 4 top-seeded players have reached the semifinal of #erstebankopen 🎾💥Well done @DaniilMedwed @janniksin @AndreyRublev97 & @steftsitsipas 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/gel1a77wQU
— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 27, 2023
Straka said it was “very important to me” that Sinner was part of the tournament field, again, and is hopeful that Carlos Alcaraz will compete in Vienna next year.
“Our goal is to get the best players to the Erste Bank Open in Vienna,” Straka said. “The next generation is on the rise and is playing with incredible intensity, as seen in Sinner’s games against Ben Shelton or Andrey Rublev. We will keep a close eye on developments and see what happens between now and spring.”
By the numbers
The campaign of planting ten trees for every ace at the Erste Bank Open set for a record this year. With an estimated total of 660-670 aces, there will be almost 7,000 trees that will be planted in the Waldviertel.
“Quotable …”
“The week has once again shown how important such events are for Vienna. We had a sensational event; everyone went home with a smile. That’s what makes this tournament stand out. The new layout and branding were extremely important to us and worked very well. We’ll continue to work on the little things, because we always want to go one better and we’ll be able to do that next year as well.”
– Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller, CEO of tournament sponsor Erste Bank, speaking during a press conference, looking back on this year’s ATP 500 indoor event.
