Carlos Alcaraz won his opening match at the Vienna Open on Tuesday with a straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov, while Alexander Zverev survived four match points to beat Martin Landaluce in a marathon encounter.
Sidelined from mid-April to the end of August due to a wrist injury, Alcaraz has produced mixed results since his return, including a third-round exit at the Shanghai Masters in his last tournament at the start of October.
I would say it was a great match to watch and I’m really happy about it,” Alcaraz said. “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. In a closely contested second frame, Alcaraz prevailed in a tight tie-break with a perfectly weighted drop shot to seal the match.
An even set went through to 6-5 for Zverev, and the 29-year-old managed to force two match points on Landaluce’s serve but the young Spaniard held firm to take it to a tie-break.
The 23-year-old will next face Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili or local player Jurij Rodionov in the round of 16. Zverev secured a crucial second break of the 20-year-old Spaniard’s serve in the 12th game to take the opener 7-5.
“(I was pushed) to the absolute limit,” Zverev said. “Credit to (Landaluce), he played an amazing match.
