Alexander Zverev saved four match points to beat Spain's Martin Landaluce 7-5 3-6 7-6(11) in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Tuesday, 27 October. The top seed is now two wins away from becoming world No. 1 for the first time. In the same session, Carlos Alcaraz beat Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6(5) on his first appearance in Vienna since 2021.
A tie-break of more than 20 minutes
The match lasted 3 hours and 5 minutes. All four of Landaluce's match points came in the deciding-set tie-break, which lasted more than 20 minutes, and Zverev won on his fifth match point, according to the ATP. Landaluce, a wild card ranked 67th, also saved four match points of his own, two of them at 5-6 in the third set, Tennis Now noted. Zverev saved the first of the Spaniard's match points with a big second serve at 5-6 in the tie-break.
"[I was pushed] to the absolute limit," Zverev said, praising Landaluce's forehand after the serve. "I know I have to improve, for sure," he added. The 20-year-old Spaniard is third in the race for the Next Gen ATP Finals and in line to qualify for the second year running.
No. 1 within reach
The stakes for Zverev are high. If he reaches the quarter-finals in Vienna, he is guaranteed to replace Jannik Sinner at the top of the rankings on 2 November, the ATP said. He has already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking, and his win over Landaluce was his 63rd of the season against 16 defeats. His next opponent is Brussels champion Tallon Griekspoor or Brandon Nakashima.
Alcaraz misses three match points, then wins the tie-break
Alcaraz, the world No. 3, came from a break down to take the first set and had three match points on Khachanov's serve at 5-4 in the second. He missed them, then lost his own serve, but broke straight back and recovered from 1-3 in the tie-break to win in 2 hours and 4 minutes. "I don't know, to be honest, how I did it," he said of the passing shot that settled the tie-break, as reported by Tennis Majors.
The Spaniard won 80% of his first-serve points and now leads Khachanov 7-0 in their head-to-head. He has won 22 matches in a row at ATP 500 level since losing the Barcelona final to Holger Rune in April 2025. He said the Vienna crowd was why he wanted to come back: "This crowd has something special." He will play Jurij Rodionov or Nikoloz Basilashvili next.
The race to Turin
Further down the draw, Flavio Cobolli beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-3 for his 36th tour-level win of the season, a personal best. The Italian moved back above Daniil Medvedev into fifth place in the live race for the ATP Finals, although Medvedev can take the place back by beating Daniel Merida on Wednesday. Tommy Paul also advanced, beating Andrey Rublev 7-5 6-2. Follow every match on our tennis results page.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- ATP Tour — Zverev saves 4 MPs, survives Landaluce test in Vienna
- ATP Tour — Alcaraz settles to sink Khachanov in high-quality Vienna return
- Tennis Majors — "I don't know how I did it": Alcaraz escapes Khachanov to reach Vienna last 16
- Tennis Now — Zverev Saves 4 Match Points, Edges "Amazing" Landaluce in Vienna Thriller