The Vienna Open, known as the Erste Bank Open for sponsorship reasons, is one of two marquee tennis events on the ATP Tour this week, with the other being the Swiss Indoors Basel.
Erste Bank Open Picks
Bet on Zverev to win the tournament.
Both tournaments are ATP 500 level events and feature intriguing storylines with several players – Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz, and Casper Ruud – competing for the final few spots in next month’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
The 2023 Erste Bank Open is the 49th edition of the annual tournament, which is played on indoor hard courts. Eight of the world’s top 15 players are in the draw, making it tough for Erste Bank Open predictions.
Past Winners
The last three champions in Vienna are in the field for this year’s tournament. Daniil Medvedev, the top seed, won last year’s tournament, beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final. Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev won in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Other recent champions include Dominic Thiem (2019), Kevin Anderson (2018), Andy Murray (2016 and 2014), and Juan Martin del Potro (2012).
The Draw
The top half of the draw features players with some of the best tennis stats in the world. Medvedev, as the top seed, opens the tournament against Arthur Fils on Tuesday. He’s joined in the top half of the bracket by top-eight seeds Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, and Karen Khachanov.
Other contenders in Erste Bank Open predictions in that half of the draw include Borna Gojo, Thiem, Jiri Lehecka, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Second seed Jannik Sinner has the unenviable task of opening his tournament against American Ben Shelton, who was a semifinalist at the US Open and won his first career ATP Tour title last week in Japan. Zverev, Rublev, and Frances Tiafoe are the other top-eight seeds in the bottom half of the draw.
Day 1 Review
Things went mostly as expected on day one of the Erste Bank Open predictions on Monday. Alexander Zverev opened up the Round of 32 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Sebastian Ofner, while eighth seed Khachanov also advanced with a straight sets win over Roman Safiullin. Matteo Arnaldi, Jiri Lehecka, and Cam Norrie are also through to the second round.
Marquee Matches
Frances Tiafoe (-188) vs. Dan Evans (+150)
Tiafoe, the seventh seed in the Erste Bank Open, has a tough test ahead in the first round as he plays Evans, world No. 35. Frances is 4-3 in seven career matches against Evans, although Evans won the most recent meeting between the two earlier this season in Washington. Tiafoe is 2-1 against Evans on indoor hard courts.
While there’s strong upset potential here, Tiafoe feels due for a win. He has lost three consecutive matches, but the most recent was against Japan Open runner-up Aslan Karatsev. Tiafoe has the sixth-shortest tennis odds to win in Vienna.
Gael Monfils (-225) vs. Daniel Altmaier (+175)
Gael Monfils is coming off of his 12th career ATP title, winning in Stockholm last week. The 37-year-old has performed well this season but has played sparingly due in part to a wrist injury. His first-round match against Daniel Altmaier will be his sixth in seven days, so it would be surprising if he was in good form.
Monfils has never played Altmaier, who is a career-best world No. 47 and 30-27 this season, including 1-1 on indoor hard courts. Monfils is 5-1 on indoor hard courts, so consider that in your Erste Bank Open predictions.
Erste Bank Open Predictions
With Zverev already through to the second round and needing a strong performance here to secure a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals, he’s a strong bet to win the bottom half of the draw, although there are plenty of worthy contenders. The winner of Shelton and Sinner will likely reach the semifinals in that half of the draw.
Medvedev, the defending champion, seems like one of the better tennis predictions to move on in the top half of the draw, but even his potential second-round opponent (Dimitrov or Lorenzo Musetti) could be difficult.
- Final Prediction: Zverev def. Tsitsipas
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