Last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals Jannik Sinner overcame this year’s Rome Masters 1000 semifinalist and world number 27 Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna after 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Sinner earned three set points in the seventh game of the first set, but he did not convert them. Ruud earned a set point at 6-5, but Sinner saved it when the Norwegian player hit his forehand into the net.
Sinner got two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-2 on his first set point. Sinner broke serve in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead. Ruud broke straight back in the fifth game to draw level to 3-3 after Sinner made two consecutive double faults. Sinner earned three consecutive break points in the eighth game and converted his first chance to open up a 5-3 lead. Sinner sealed his 14th win of the season on his fourth match point.
Sinner set up a very interesting second round match against fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
Reigning ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from one set down in his 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4 in 1 hour and 52 minutes to reach the second round Tsitsipas and Struff tied 2-2 in his four head-to-head matches. Three of their four clashes went to the third set.
Struff saved two break points in the first game to hold his serve with an ace for 1-0. Tsitsipas fended off three break points in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5 at deuce with a hold of serve. Both players held their serve in the next games en route to the tie-break. Struff got two mini-breaks to close out the tie-break on his first set point.
Both players went on serve until the eighth game, when Tsitsipas got the first break of the match to win the second set 6-3, when Struff missed a high forehand into the net.
Just before Struff served to begin the third game at 1-1, Tsitsipas switched his left shoe. When the match resumed, Tsitsipas earned the decisive break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. The Greek player dropped just three service points and won 83 % of his first serve points.
“I think Jan played good today and we were both serving well, playing well from the baseline. I would not say there were many rallies. It was a demonstration of serves and I managed to overcome the difficulties there were presented in his service games”, said Tsitsipas.
Danil Medvedev cruised into the second round with a 6-3 6-1 win over Jason Jung in 65 minutes.
Medvedev broke four times and saved all the five break points he faced. The Russian player broke twice in the first and ninth games to win the first set 6-3.
He faced a break point in the first game of the second set, but he saved it with a big serve. The 2020 US Open finalist got the break with a cross-court forehand passing shot. He won 82% of his first-serve points in the second set and closed out the second set with a smash.
Medvedev set up a second round match against either Felix Auger Aliassime or Vasek Pospisil.
“It was a great start, I think. The most important thing in the first round is to win. We always see tough matches in the first round, so I am really happy to be through and looking forward to the next matches”, said Medvedev.
Former Wimbledon champion Kevin Anderson beat this year’s US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-1. Carreno Busta rallied from 40-15 down to break serve at deuce in the opening game. Anderson converted his fifth break-back point in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Both players went on serve until the 12th game when Anderson broke at 15 to win the first set 7-5. Anderson broke twice in the sixth game to close out the second set 6-1.
