VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 26, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
In a city whose legacy has been shaped by cultural artists and intellectuals, from Beethoven and Mozart to Sigmund Freud, this week Vienna’s spotlight is on the ATP Tour.
The 52nd edition of the ATP 500-series Erste Bank Open is underway at multifunctional Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest event venue.
This year, there are six Top 10 players in the field, including 2021 champion Alexander Zverev of Germany, the current World No. 2 who leads the ATP Tour in wins (62), highlighted by his Grand Slam titles won at Roland-Garros and the US Open; and World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, making his first appearance in Vienna in five years, since reaching the semifinals as an 18-year-old in 2021.
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Both Zverev and Alcaraz will see their first action on Tuesday. The top seed Zverev faces 67th-ranked Spanish wild card Martin Landaluce not before 5:30 p.m. on Centre Court, while No. 2 seed Alcaraz is second on Centre Court after 1:30 p.m. against World No. 24 Karen Khachanov of Russia.
In the meantime, leading off Monday’s play on Centre Court was Italy’s personable Matteo Berrettini. He showed why he loves playing inside Wiener Stadthalle, likes the tournament conditions, and, above all, appreciates the passionate audience’s support.
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Over the course of the 48th-ranked Berrettini’s first-round match against No. 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, the 30-year-old Roman and fan favorite took advantage of the quick indoor hard-court conditions that reward big serves and heavy forehands. Berrettini began with a trio of service aces in the opening game of the match – the fastest clocking at a high-velocity 220 km/h – and accumulated a total of a dozen by the end of his 83-minute 6-3, 6-4 victory over Etcheverry, which advanced him to the second round in Vienna for the fifth time in five career appearances.
“I think I served really well,” said Berrettini, one of five Italians in the 32-player singles main draw, during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I was clutch in important moments when I had a chance to break him. He’s a great server and really solid from the baseline. I knew the first strikes in the points would be important, so I was really focusing on that.”
Roaring back to winning ways 🗣️
@MattBerrettini gets his week in Vienna off to a flying start, powering past Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4.
@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/Qb9dAkqyEs
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 26, 2026
Berrettini finished his 19th victory of the season with 23 winners overall and outpointed Etcheverry 59-49. He won 83 percent (38 of 46) of his first-serve points, saved all six break points he faced and converted two of three break-point opportunities.
“In the second set I was able to save some break points,” Berrettini added. “I was feeling good on court. I used my serve and my retuning in important moments in the right way.”
Absolutely Delicate Touch 💯
Berrettini with a sublime drop shot in Vienna!
#ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/qyOXwNMY3O
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 26, 2026
Next, Berrettini, who has reached at least the quarterfinals in each of his four previous Vienna appearances, will face either fellow Italian and current World No. 6 Flavio Cobolli, seeded fourth, or 124th-ranked wild card Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who play Tuesday evening.
Around the Wiener Stadthalle
• World No. 10 Alex de Minaur of Australia, who owns the most ATP 500 wins this season (18), highlighted by his February run to the Rotterdam title, avoided an upset in his Vienna opener by coming from behind to beat unheralded and 71st-ranked Tomas Machac of Czechia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and two minutes on Centre Court Monday afternoon. It was his 66th ATP 500 triumph since the start of the 2023 season and this one was an emotional rollercoaster.
By the end, de Minaur tipped his cap to Machac. Even he was surprised by the Czech’s levels from the outset, but the affable Aussie showed his will to do whatever it took to win, too.
Comeback complete for Alex de Minaur 🔥
The 5th seed rallies from a set and a break down to defeat Machac in his opener in Vienna!
#ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/lAJbcqbsPj
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 26, 2026
“He’s incredibly talented. There’s no other way to put it,” de Minaur said of Machac during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “Normally you could say he is not always able to bring that level, but he can. We’ve seen him do it. So, he’s got that ability to hit through the court, through everything. He wasn’t giving me any chance.
“These conditions are quite heavy, and I felt like he could just unload on the ball and not really miss. He made it very tough for me for three quarters of that match. Honestly, I dug deep, found a way to get a crucial break when I needed it and then all of a sudden, the momentum kind of changed.”
The 27-year-old Sydneysider (43-20), who aimed to extend his 6-0 indoor record this season, came in 7-1 versus Czechs on hard courts – his only blemish coming to Tomas Berdych at the 2018 Australian Open – and looked to reach the Vienna second round for the fourth time in as many appearances. However, it took a collapse by Machac, who was sharp from first ball and built a set and a break lead before de Minaur righted his course by the end of the second set and pulled off his 43rd victory of the season.
Storming out the gates ⚡
Some winner from Machac to take the opening set 6-1 vs De Minaur
#ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/K5d5RR3cRb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 26, 2026
Meanwhile, Machac, 26, arrived on Centre Court 4-21 against Top-10 competition, seeking his first win since defeating then-No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the second round of this event two years ago. At first, he looked focused and ready – and took it to de Minaur with his attacking groundstrokes. However, by the end, instead of stopping a 0-9 losing streak against Top-10 opponents, it had now reached 10-straight losses after de Minaur fired his second ace on match point to win.
De Minaur finished with 16 winners to 21 unforced errors, compared to 33 winners and 43 unforced errors by Machac. De Minaur had his serve was broken five times. He converted five of 11 break points and was outpointed by Machac 81-79.
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Next, de Minaur will face World No. 18 Learner Tien of the United States, who eased past No. 46 Luca Van Assche of France, 6-3, 6-1, in one hour and 27 minutes Monday evening on Centre Court. Tien became the fourth man aged 20-and-under to earn a main draw win in Vienna this decade. The victory improved his tour-level win-loss record indoors to 16-7.
Tien hit 30 winners and saved all five break points he faced from his opponent. He outpointed Van Assche 65-45.
The final flourish 🧑🎨
Learner Tien wraps up Day 1 of action in Vienna with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Van Assche.
@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/knxJCLEEj3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 26, 2026
• Lukas Neumayer, just the 11th Austrian player to qualify for the main draw of the Erste Bank Open – and the first one since 2023 – lost in the first round to No. 8 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia, 6-2, 6-2, in 63 minutes on Centre Court Monday evening.
Mensik (37-20) hit 21 winners – including 11 aces – and faced no break points on his serve. He outpointed Neumayer 55-34 after converting four of eight break points. It was the 28th victory of the season on a hard-court surface for Mensik and he improved to 20-1 against players ranked outside the Top 50 on hard courts this year.
Czech-ing into R2 🇨🇿
Mensik takes down home hope Neumayer in straight sets.
@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen | @mensik https://t.co/xhVbGzNSVF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 26, 2026
• In a battle of British players, No. 35 Arthur Fery prevailed over 86th-ranked qualifier Jacob Fearnley by retirement, ahead 5-1, after just 26 minutes on Glaubandich Court. Next, Fery will face either World No. 9 and sixth seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States or Lyon champion Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, ranked 26th.
• In a Monday evening all-Italian affair, World No. 23 Luciano Darderi took out No. 36 Matteo Arnaldi, 7-5, 6-2, in one hour and 26 minutes on Glaubandich Court. The victory advanced Darderi against either World No. 14 and seventh seed Tommy Paul of the United States or World No. 22 Andrey Rublev of Russia, who play Tuesday. Darderi hit 21 winners and converted three of six break points against Arnaldi. He outpointed his opponent 71-53.
Monday’s Erste Bank Open results
Tuesday’s Erste Bank Open order of play
By the numbers
Lukas Neumayer is just the 11th Austrian player to qualify for the main draw of the Erste Bank Open – and the first one since 2023.
The other Austrian qualifiers in the history of the tournament:
Bernhard Pils 1982, Peter Feigl 1984, Michael Oberleitner 1985, Harold Mair 1990, Jurgen Melzer 2001, Rainer Eitzinger 2005, Andrea Haider-Maurer 2007, Lucas Miedler 2015, Dennis Novak 2017, Filip Misolic 2023.
“Quotable …”
“From the warmup this morning, I felt really fluid and in the rhythm. Some days are like this. Some days you struggle, some days are like this.”
– Matteo Berrettini of Italy, during his on-court interview with ATP Media, following his straight-set win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in which he fired 12 aces and hit 23 winners. His fasted serve was clocked at 230 km/h.
