De Minaur Fights Back From a Set Down to Open Vienna With a Win

Alex de Minaur needed all of his trademark resilience to survive his opening match at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Monday, coming from a set down to beat Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The Australian fifth seed made a nightmare start on Centre Court, dropping the first set in a hurry as Machac, who had come through qualifying, dictated the early exchanges. But de Minaur is one of the tour's great competitors, and he slowly turned the match around, tightening up his serving and dragging Machac into the long rallies he thrives in. The second set went his way 6-4, and by the decider the momentum had fully shifted, with de Minaur closing out a 6-3 final set to book his place in the second round. The win matters at this stage of the season, with Vienna the last major stop before the Paris Masters ends the regular campaign and the race for the season-ending finals reaching its climax. De Minaur arrived in the Austrian capital ranked just outside the world's top ten, and a deep run here would strengthen his late push. For Machac, it was a case of what might have been after such a bright start, but de Minaur's comeback was a reminder of why he is so hard to beat over three sets.