Vienna Open Round-Up: Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti grind out tough wins as Rublev falls to Norrie

Day Two of the ATP 500 Vienna Open was disputed, with the first round still underway and the debut of several title favorites. Lorenzo Musetti secured a straightforward victory against Hamad Medjedovic, while Alexander Zverev had to fight to the extreme to survive an upset against Jacob Fearnley.

On the other hand, the 7th seed Andrey Rublev was the first seeded player to be eliminated, after losing to the Brit Cameron Norrie, while the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo secured a notable win against his Laver Cup teammate, Alex Michelsen.

Cameron Norrie (No. 35) secured a hard-fought victory against the Russian Andrey Rublev (No. 15), knocking him out of the Vienna Open early, winning 6-2, 6-7, 6-2. It was one of the most compelling matches of the day, between two former Top-10 players, but the Brit ultimately prevailed in what was their 6th encounter, leveling the head-to-head at 3-3.

In just over two hours of play, Norrie had 67% first serves in, winning 75% of those points, numbers slightly superior to Rublev, who had 59% first serves in and won 65% of points on his first serve. Norrie’s effectiveness was much higher, converting 5/11 break points, while Rublev managed only one break on two opportunities. Norrie awaits his second-round opponent, who will come from the winner between Alexei Popyrin and Matteo Berrettini.

Lorenzo Musetti (No. 8) was one of the players arriving most urgently needing wins, seeing his spot threatened in the race for the ATP Finals spots. He defeated Hamad Medjedovic (No. 67) with a convincing 6-4, 6-3 to continue racking up victories. The Italian was impressive with a 92% success rate on his first serve and conceded his serve only once in a match where he secured three breaks on six opportunities.

Medjedovic started with an early break lead, but Musetti quickly recovered the break, and in an even set, managed to take the lead with a late break. The dynamic was similar in the second set, with both players defending their service games well, but Musetti showed he could maintain composure for longer, and capitalized on his only break opportunities in the 8th game to take the lead and then close out the victory on his serve 6-4, 6-3. In the second round, he will face the Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry—who defeated wildcard Nicolai Budkov Kjaer.

Alexander Zverev suffered in his return to the courts in Vienna, following an inconsistent Asian Swing, where he was eliminated in the third round in Beijing, the second round in Shanghai, and defeated in his debut at the Six Kings Slam. Vienna feels like home for him, a tournament he won in 2021 (defeating Tiafoe in the final), and he had to summon his best inspiration to secure a complicated victory against Jacob Fearnley (No. 81), winning 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).

The German took early control of the match with an opening break, and then merely held onto his serve for the rest of the set to take a 6-4 lead. The World No. 3 had to save a 0-40 deficit midway through the set, but that was the only game where he struggled on his serve. However, things changed in the second set, and Fearnley took command of the game, securing two consecutive breaks and a streak of games that put him up 5-0. 'Sascha' managed to defend only one service game, but it was just a cosmetic change to the result, as Fearnley took the set 6-1.

Everything came down to the third set, and Fearnley managed to keep pace with Zverev. With no break points played, they defended their serves one by one. The Brit had to save a break point against him when serving at 4-5, but everything was decided in the tie-break. It was there that the World No. 3 showed his seniority to take an early lead and then manage his emotions to close out the win and advance to the second round, where he will face Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi.