Erste Bank Open:

Tough draw for Rodionov, Sinner against German

Yuri Rodionov(Bild: GEPA)

Yuriy Rodionov had a particularly difficult first round opponent on Saturday in the draw for the Erste Bank Open starting on Monday. Comedian Michael Niavarani did not have the best hand for the Lower Austrian in the new second location Marx Halle and drew the number 3 seeded Australian Alex de Minaur as his opponent. Directly afterwards, Austria's number one, Filip Misolic, was given a somewhat easier draw with Argentinian Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Top star Jannik Sinner will face German Daniel Altmaier in the first round, while former Vienna winner Alexander Zverev received a great draw. Since three qualifiers appear above him as the last player in the tableau, he would only meet a non-qualifier in the quarter-finals.

Rodionov leads the head-to-head with De Minaur 1:0
From an Austrian perspective, the two wildcard players will have a very tough time in the strong field. A possible second round duel between Misolic and Rodionov would be piquant if both were to prevail against their opening opponents. However, Rodionov in particular is a clear outsider against the world number seven de Minaur, although he won the only previous duel with the "Aussie" four years ago in the Stuttgart quarter-finals on grass with 7:6 in the third set.

  "It will be an interesting match. The de Minaur on a fast hard court indoors is probably not pleasant. But you have to take what Niavarani has drawn," joked Rodionov in the new additional tournament location Marx Halle, where a tournament atmosphere already prevailed on Saturday. "There will be a great atmosphere in the Stadthalle, it's always a highlight for me there."

  In 2020, Rodionov surprised everyone with a first-round victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who returned the favor two years later in round one. It was important for the Lower Austrian, who received the wild card for the injured Sebastian Ofner, to wish Ofner a "speedy recovery". "You don't wish something like that on a colleague."

Misolic wants to end negative streak
Austria's only top 100 man is Misolic. He comes to Vienna with a negative streak of five defeats in a row. "It's definitely a good draw when you see the names in the draw. But it won't be an easy match either, I'm looking forward to the duel. We've already played twice this year, let's see who wins the second match," he alluded to the 1:1 draw this year. Overall, Misolic (Miami qualification 2023) leads 2:1.