VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 28, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Alexander Zverev moved to within one victory of becoming World No. 1 as he opened his pursuit of winning the ATP 500 Erste Bank Open Tuesday evening. Looking back, the top-seeded German received quite a scare from his opponent, #NextGenATP rising star Martin Landaluce of Spain.
By the end of their three-hour, five-minute marathon, it was the World No. 2 Zverev’s experience that rewarded him with his ATP Tour-leading 63rd win of the 2026 season. He beat the 67th-ranked wild card Landaluce, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (11).
Zverev, who won the 2021 Vienna title, saved four match points against Landaluce during a marathon 24-point, third-set tie-break that stretched over more than 21 minutes in duration. He finally won the first-round tussle on his fifth match point – third of the tiebreaker – that left him consoling a teary-eyed Landaluce at the net.
Take a bow, BOTH of you! 🫡
An incredible battle between Zverev and Landaluce, capped off by a classy embrace at the net ❤️
@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/SgHD1SwxD3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 27, 2026
The capacity crowd that filled Wiener Stadthalle gave both players a standing ovation as they walked off Centre Court together.
“[I was pushed] to the absolute limit,” said a relieved but exhausted 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.”
Looking back on their epic battle, victory could have gone to either competitor. Each had their chances. Zverev earned a pair of match points, ahead 6-5 in the third set on Landaluce’s serve. However, the 20-year-old Spaniard saved both of them to force a decisive tie-break, which became a nail-biting battle to the bitter end.
We’ve got a plot twist 😮
Landaluce forces a decider against the top seed!
@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/VdasxyR7lc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 27, 2026
Soon, Landaluce earned his first match point at 6-5, but Zverev erased it on his own serve. Later, Zverev had his third chance to close out the win, ahead 7-6, but Landaluce stifled his opponent with his powerful serve.
Subsequently, the Madrid native earned three more match points, at 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9. Zverev held his nerve each time. He saved Landaluce’s fourth match point with a clutch service ace – his eighth of the match – to make it 10-all.
Then, an error by Landaluce gave Zverev his fourth match point at 11-10, but he remained fearless and erased it with a seventh-shot forehand winner. Zverev won the next point to gain his fifth match point at 12-11, this time on his own serve, after winning a lengthy exchange. Landaluce went for an aggressive return but sent a forehand return just wide.
Finally, the 29-year-old Zverev gained victory and advanced to the Vienna second round for the sixth time against either Brussels champion Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, ranked 50th, or World No. 17 Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who play Wednesday.
Gained a lot of new fans today 🙌
Zverev joins the applause for a tremendous effort by Landaluce.
#ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/4fTQlWiU9t
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 27, 2026
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.
Should Zverev add to his 15 career Vienna victories and win his second-round match on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals, he would become the new World No. 1 next Monday, surpassing Jannik Sinner in the ATP Rankings.
Meanwhile, Landaluce is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria, which puts him in position to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals for a second-straight year.
Cobolli goes the distance, beats Dimitrov
No. 4 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy needed two hours and 15 minutes plus three-sets to overcome 124th-ranked wild card Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, for his 36th victory of the season, a personal-best for a single season. The late-Tuesday night win moved Cobolli into the Vienna second round for the third-straight year, while the loss dropped the 34-year-old Dimitrov’s win-loss record during what has been an injury-plagued season for him to 9-15. Next for Cobolli will be fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini.
Flavio Cobolli (photo: e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger)
In their first career meeting, the World No. 6 Cobolli hit 20 winners to overcome 32 unforced errors, converted two of eight break points and saved six of seven break points he faced from Dimitrov. Points were even at 95-all.
Of significance, Cobolli moved ahead of Daniil Medvedev of Russia into fifth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. However, the World No. 5 Medvedev can return to the No. 5 spot by winning his first-round match against 42nd-ranked Spaniard Daniel Merida on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s Erste Bank Open results
Wednesday’s Erste Bank Open order of play
