Erste Bank Open Vienna: Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Thiem at the start
At the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, as in previous years, a terrific starting field will fight for the title in the Stadthalle: first and foremost defending champion Alexander Zverev and world number one Daniil Medvedev .
by p.m
last edit: Jul 13, 2022, 04:11 pm
The countdown to the Erste Bank Open 2022 is on! Tomorrow, Thursday, there are exactly 100 days until the balls fly over the net again at the tennis highlight in Vienna. For the ATP 500 tournament from October 22nd to 30th in the Wiener Stadthalle, which is endowed with around 2.5 million euros, and at "Erste Bank Open 2 Go" on the square of the Wiener Eislaufverein at Heumarkt, a gigantic line-up is already emerging with world number one Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev (GER/2) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE/4), three superstars from the top 4 of the current ATP rankings are on the entry list. In addition, Matteo Berrettini, who recently played well, and crowd favorite Frances Tiafoe have confirmed their participation in the Erste Bank Open.
Daniil Medvedev amazed the tennis world last year when he smashed Serbia's Novak Djokovic's dream of winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in one season in the final of the US Open in New York. With the entry into this year's final at the Australian Open in Melbourne, the winner of 13 ATP tournaments (twelve of them on hard court) followed the next strong performance with a "major". “Daniil Medvedev has steadily worked his way up to the top of the world rankings. With his track record on hard courts, he is of course one of the favorites at the Erste Bank Open,” explains tournament director Herwig Straka.
Zverev cares about Vienna
Last year's winner in Vienna, Alexander Zverev, is working intensively on his comeback after suffering an ankle injury at the French Open in Paris. In his victory speech in 2021, he emphasized that the tournament in Vienna is particularly important to the German: "It was one of the best weeks of the year for me. I hope that I can often enjoy the special atmosphere at this tournament in the future." Straka is confident that Zverev will defend his title at the Erste Bank Open next October: "Sascha (Alexander Zverev, note) does in his Good progress in rehab.” In 2021, Zverev prevailed in the final against Frances Tiafoe, who entertained the audience with his spectacular tennis and lots of shows. The US boy has decided to pick up where he left off in Vienna this year!
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini have recently made headlines with tournament successes. Tsitsipas won his first ATP title on grass in Mallorca at the end of June, and Berrettini returned to the ATP with tournament victories at the grass events in Stuttgart and London's Queen's Club after surgery on his right batting hand, which resulted in a two-month break -Tour back. Straka: "With Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini, two other top stars have been named for the Erste Bank Open, who inspire fans worldwide with their attractive playing style."
In 2019, Berrettini gave Dominic Thiem a gripping exchange of blows in the semifinals in Vienna, which the local hero won in three sets. With another three-set success in the final against the Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, the Lower Austrian made his home triumph perfect. Speaking of Thiem: "If Dominic needs a wildcard for the Erste Bank Open, then of course we have reserved one for him," clarifies tournament director Straka.