Zverev meets #NextGenATP Schwaerzler in Vienna opener, retiring Thiem plays Darderi

The Erste Bank Open draw has thrown up a host of intriguing storylines as a host of top names arrive in Vienna for the indoor hard-court ATP 500.

Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion and this year’s top seed, will be unlikely to count on the support of local fans for his first-round clash at the Wiener Stadthalle, where he will take on #NextGenATP home favourite Joel Schwaerzler. It will be a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash between World No. 2 Zverev and the 18-year-old Schwaerzler, whose only previous tour-level match came in Kitzbuehel earlier this year.

Alongside Schwaerzler, there is another Austrian in the top half of the Vienna draw. Former World No. 3 and 17-time tour-level champion Dominic Thiem is competing as a wild card in the final event of his pro career. The 31-year-old will take on Luciano Darderi in the first round, with the winner set to meet seventh seed Jack Draper or wild card Kei Nishikori.

Third seed Grigor Dimitrov, who will contest his semi-final against Tallon Griekspoor in Stockholm on Saturday evening, begins his Vienna campaign against Zhang Zhizhen. The Bulgarian will know that a deep run in the Austrian capital could be key if he wants to make a late surge towards Nitto ATP Finals qualification.

Dimitrov is currently 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, one spot behind the second seed in Vienna, Alex de Minaur. After reaching the Antwerp quarter-finals this week, De Minaur will aim to make a fast start in his opening match against Jan-Lennard Struff in Vienna. His fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin, the eighth seed, is a potential quarter-final opponent for De Minaur.

Another member of the chasing pack in the Live Race, Tommy Paul, will play Brandon Nakashima in an all-American first-round clash. Paul’s potential quarter-final opponents in the Austrian capital include Matteo Berrettini, who opens against a qualifier, and fifth seed Frances Tiafoe, who starts against Cameron Norrie.

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