Vienna Open Round-Up: Zverev and Berrettini cruises into quarters, Moutet gets revenge on Medvedev

The quarter-finalists of the ATP 500 Vienna Open were determined this Thursday, with a straightforward victory for second seed Alexander Zverev against qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4, in addition to the hard-fought victory of Matteo Berrettini against Cameron Norrie 7-6(6), 6-7(9), 6-4 after more than 3 hours of play.

On the other hand, the surprise of the day came from the victory of Corentin Moutet over Daniil Medvedev, where he took revenge for the Almaty Open final just four days ago, and the Frenchman secured a straight-sets victory to reach his new personal best ranking as World No. 31.

Matteo Berrettini (No. 59) had a tough physical battle against Cameron Norrie (No. 35) in the second round of Vienna, which ended with a victory for the Italian 7-6(6), 6-7(9), 6-4 after three hours and 18 minutes of play. The former Wimbledon runner-up recorded 16 aces and won 73% of his first-serve points, significantly superior to Norrie's 6 aces and 64% first-serve points won.

In the first set, Norrie squandered a 4-1 lead, and Berrettini managed to come back to send everything to a tie-break. The Italian was strong and took the lead in a tight first set. In the second set, Norrie squandered his single break opportunity, and everything was defined in a tight tie-break where neither was overly precise on serve. Berrettini even wasted a match point, and Norrie ended up taking the second set in an epic tie-break 11-9.

After two and a half hours of play, the third set began, where neither player offered many opportunities to their rival, but Berrettini was more aggressive—with 12 winners against 6 for his opponent. The Italian waited for his opportunity, and at a 4-4 score, he secured the decisive break that paved the way for victory. The 29-year-old star successfully defends the points achieved last year by reaching the same round, and he will look for his first semi-final in a year and a half when he faces Alex de Minaur (3rd).

The winning streak of Daniil Medvedev came to an end. The Russian, who had just won the title at the Almaty Open last week, ended up falling to Corentin Moutet 7-6(3), 6-4 in the second round of Vienna. The Frenchman was his rival in the final just four days prior, and Medvedev had emerged victorious in three sets—leaving Moutet still without an ATP title.

In the first set, the differences were minimal between both players, although Moutet was more aggressive and constantly approached the net to close points. Moutet was the first to get an opening break and managed to take the lead to 4-2. It was there that Medvedev reacted to break back, and then both players held their serve until everything was defined in a tie-break. The former World No. 1 started with an advantage with a mini-break, but Moutet was much more aggressive—totaling 19 winners against 10 for the Russian—and secured a run of 7 consecutive points—including three mini-breaks—to take the first set 7-6(3).

In the second set, things started evenly, and it was even Medvedev who secured the first break—in the 5th game—and took a 3-2 lead. However, from there, Medvedev's serve collapsed, and Moutet took up to three consecutive breaks. It mattered little that he conceded one of the breaks along the way, as his effectiveness on return was enough to close out the victory 7-6(3), 6-3 against a Medvedev who struggled with both his first and second serve. Moutet advances to the quarter-finals, where he will face Lorenzo Musetti (4th) or Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

Alexander Zverev comfortably reached the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open against Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4, guaranteeing his passage to the quarter-finals of the tournament. The 2021 champion was imposing with his 72% first-serve percentage and 87% effectiveness with it, which allowed him to maintain his service games without problems, saving the only break point he faced mid-way through the second set.

The World No. 2 was, in contrast, effective when he had opportunities, securing 2/3 break points in his favor. The German had no upsets against Arnaldi, being superior in winners (16 against 13) and having a significantly lower number of unforced errors, with only 3 against Arnaldi's 14.