Day three of the 2023
Vienna Open, also known as the Erste Bank Open, is set to get underway tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25, at the Wiener Stadthalle. Here is our
preview of the day at the ATP 500 tournament, with
Ben Shelton set for a re-match with
Jannik Sinner while
Alexander Zverev faces
Cameron Norrie and
Daniil Medvedev takes on
Arthur Fils.
Top seed Medvedev will face rising talent Fils at approximately 11:00 local time. This is the World No. 3's first competition since his shock defeat in the second round of the Shanghai Masters, where he was unable to defend his title after he was ousted by Sebastian Korda.
However, the 27-year-old reached the final of the China Open the week prior, suggesting that he is still very much on form and is likely to be looking for redemption in Vienna.
Meanwhile, Fils will be aiming to carry the momentum over from his run to the final at the European Open in Antwerp last week, where he defeated World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas before finishing as runner-up to Alexander Bublik in the final. However, Fils has never faced Medvedev before, and it is likely that the latter player's experience and consistency will see him through.
Shelton and Sinner set for re-match
Another highlight of the day will be the battle between World No. 4 Sinner and No. 15 Shelton. The Italian faced the American for the first time at the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, where Shelton emerged victorious from a close three-set thriller.
Therefore, it is likely that Sinner will be looking for revenge here but he may have some difficulties against a motivated opponent, as Shelton will have the momentum from winning his first ATP title at the Japan Open last week. Both are big hitters with powerful serves, so it is likely to be another closely contested encounter.
Moreover, fifth seed Zverev will face World No. 18 Norrie. The German player currently dominates their head-to-head 3-0, having last defeated the Brit at the 2022 ATP Cup in straight sets.
Both players competed in the Round of 32, where Zverev downed Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-1, while Norrie moved past Filip Misolic after a three-set battle. Despite a couple of early defeats in recent weeks, Zverev has looked to be on the rise as of late whereas Norrie has suffered a string of early exits, suggesting that the World No. 10 is likely to be the player who will progress to the next round.
Also featuring on Day Three will be fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who is set to take on World No. 46 Matteo Arnaldi, while newly-crowned Stockholm Open champion Gael Monfils will face Daniel Altmaier.