Alexander Zverev began his campaign at the ATP 500 event in Vienna with a hard-fought 2:1 win over Martín Landaluce in the first round, according to sport.de. The match, played on Tuesday, went to three sets and was decided in a tiebreak, with Zverev also saving match points along the way.
Kicker described the result as a narrow escape for the German, noting the three-set distance, the saved match points and the tiebreak finish. sport.de's live ticker recorded the final score as 2:1 in Zverev's favour.
The win keeps Zverev moving at the Erste Bank Open, the ATP 500 tournament in the Austrian capital. FAZ framed his position at the Vienna event as putting him close to the top of the men's game, while Eurosport reported that Carlos Alcaraz has offered pointed criticism of Zverev's successes — a storyline running alongside the German's results.
Zverev's next match at the tournament will show whether the scratchy opening performance was a one-off or a sign of trouble in his Vienna run.
