Vienna Open Round-Up: De Minaur and Bublik impresses as Khachanov’s struggles continue

The ATP 500 Vienna Open began with its first round, and some of the seeds were already on the court. The third seed Alex de Minaur secured a comfortable victory against local wildcard Jurij Rodionov, while the 8th seed Alexander Bublik overcame the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo without major complications—both in straight sets.

The surprise of the day came from the defeat of the Russian Karen Khachanov, who squandered a slight advantage in the third set and ultimately fell to the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Alex De Minaur (No. 7) lived up to his favorite status in his debut against local wildcard Jurij Rodionov (No. 154), securing a straightforward win 6-4, 6-1 after one hour and 20 minutes. The Australian stayed alive in a tight first set, where he had to save a couple of break points against him midway through the set. Rodionov had shown serving firmness, but in the final part (serving at 4-5 down), he conceded the first couple of opportunities to his rival, and De Minaur secured the break—and the set.

With the advantage for the World No. 7, he stepped on the gas at the start of the second set, taking an immediate break and leading 3-0. With the lead on his side, De Minaur only had to maintain his excellent service games—in a match where he won 80% of service points compared to only 57% for his rival. The Australian held onto the lead, capitalized on his opponent's errors—a total of 17 unforced errors from Rodionov against only 5 from De Minaur—and closed out the victory without complications, 6-4, 6-1. In the second round, he will face the winner between Camilo Ugo Carabelli and local wildcard Filip Misolic.

De Minaur now has 51 wins in 70 matches this season (72.86%), and he continues to accumulate victories, getting closer to qualifying for the ATP Finals, currently sitting 7th in the Race. The Australian was already in the Finals back in 2024 when Novak Djokovic's absence opened up a new spot, and De Minaur benefited as the 9th-ranked player of the season.

The World No. 16 Alexander Bublik returned to winning ways after a couple of first-round defeats. The Kazakh won his 4th title of the season at the Hangzhou Open a month ago but was then surprisingly defeated in the first round at the China Open (against Mannarino) and the Shanghai Masters (against eventual champion Vacherot). Back on the indoor courts of Vienna, he was favored against the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (No. 75), and Bublik took the win 6-4, 6-4.

In the first set, Bublik found himself in trouble against an opponent who didn't give him many opportunities on serve. The first break point went to the South American when he was up 4-3, but he failed to convert it. Bublik seized the moment under pressure and closed the set by winning three consecutive games, taking the lead 6-4.

In the second set, things didn't change much, with a tight set where Bublik held his serves without problems. Tabilo and Bublik had streaks of points on their serve—both managed to string together 11 consecutive service points in the initial part of the second set—but as the minutes and games passed, the first break opportunities arrived. The Chilean's nerves at 3-3 gave Bublik the first break, and he then held his serve to stay ahead. The 6-4, 6-4 victory for the 28-year-old Kazakh was fueled by an impressive 91% of points won on his first serve and 12 aces, compared to his rival's 73% and 8 aces.

It's a difficult time for the Russian Karen Khachanov (No. 13), who suffered a fourth consecutive first-round defeat, this time to Tallon Griekspoor (No. 28). The 29-year-old star returned to the Top-10 a couple of months ago—after reaching the Cincinnati Open final—but has not performed well in recent months, failing to secure a win since the first round of the US Open at the end of August, tallying five consecutive losses since then.

In a match lasting just over two hours, Khachanov had a perfect start on his serve—with 12 consecutive service points in his favor up to 3-3. However, a single game showed doubts, and Griekspoor took the break, claiming the set 6-3, winning only those 4 return points in the 8th game. In the second set, the Dutchman seemed closer to the break, but Khachanov managed his nerves to put pressure on his rival and secured his first break point when a tie-break seemed inevitable, equalizing the match 7-5.

Khachanov showed resilience to send the match to a third set, and despite being more aggressive—with 10 winners against 0 from his rival—the errors in the final part of the match proved costly. Griekspoor secured a single break in the 7th game, which was enough to ensure the 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory and advance to the second round, where he will face the American Brandon Nakashima (who eliminated Luciano Darderi).