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# ATP Vienna Draw and Preview: Alcaraz returns, Zverev three wins from World No.1 ranking
- URL: https://deep-dive-tennis.ghost.io/atp-vienna-draw-and-preview-alcaraz-returns-zverev-two-wins-from-world-no-1-ranking/
- Published: 2026-10-26T06:56:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-27T05:03:23.000Z
- Author: Jake Davies
- Tags: Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Vienna, ATP Vienna, Tennis, Mens tennis, Turin, Race to Turin, Flavio Cobolli, Daniil Medvedev, Frances tiafoe, Alcaraz, Zverev, Medvedev

The second ATP 500 tournament this week will be held in Vienna. Three former champions of the event are actually in the main draw this year with Andrey Rublev (2020 champion), **Alexander Zverev** (2021 champion) and **Daniil Medvedev** (2022 champion) all featuring. Last year's Vienna champion **Jannik Sinner** will not be there to defend his title due to an ongoing knee problem that has put an end to his season.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/97/03972069-b7c9-4016-8fed-44898721e372/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-26-at-06.39.42.png)

ATP 500 Vienna main draw

**Notable seeds:**

**Carlos Alcaraz \[2\] \[WC\]**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/97/03972069-b7c9-4016-8fed-44898721e372/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-25-at-17.45.55.png)

The big announcement of **Carlos Alcaraz** coming in as a late wildcard entrant elevated this tournament considerably. It will be his first competitive match since the title win in Tokyo and the first time he has played in Vienna for five long years. He boasts a 6-0 H2H record against his first opponent opponent Karen Khachanov - the Russian has won just two sets over the course those matches. The Spaniard will likely be in the business end of the tournament which is minimum expectation for him.

**Alexander Zverev \[1\]**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/03/97/03972069-b7c9-4016-8fed-44898721e372/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-25-at-17.46.30.png)

Hard to ignore the success of No.1 seed **Alexander Zverev** this season. He may have only won a couple of titles but they were two major titles at both the French Open and the US Open. The German plays one of the brightest young prospects on the tour in 20-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the first round. A match up that presents itself with a lot of dangers, but on a slow indoor court that gives Zverev a bit more time he should be safe in this one. 

**Other notable seeds**

The other notable seeds are the ones involved in the Race to Turin. Those players are **Flavio Cobolli**, **Frances Tiafoe**, **Daniil Medvedev** and **Alex De Minaur.** 

Cobolli and Medvedev are both coming off great weeks respectively, with Cobolli making the Lyon semi-finals and if he had taken any of his four match points in that encounter who knows what more he could have achieved there. While Medvedev successfully defended his Almaty title in Russia. I was fortunate to watch most of his matches and he looks great from a tennis perspective, especially the serving.

Tiafoe decided to take a bit of a breather last week after travelling over to Asia, probably with the mindset of attacking these next two tournaments in Vienna and Paris being in the best condition possible. While De Minaur just recently made the Beijing final against Novak Djokovic in a losing effort in which the Australian retired before going on to make the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.

Stories of the week to look out for:

The two big stories pretty much revolve around Zverev. The first being that he is potentially just the three victories away from becoming No.1 player in the world for the first time in his career and only the second German to do it on the men's side since Boris Becker. That changes everything in terms of how Zverev perceives this week and it could add a little bit of pressure.

The second thing I am looking for in Vienna is a big final between Zverev and Alcaraz. Not just because they are the two highest seeds here, but because I would love to observe how the German performs in that matchup. It historically is not a matchup he likes and Alcaraz mostly holds a bit of a mental edge. I would be curious to see how that has changed or if that has changed at all since Alcaraz has been off the tour and Zverev has ascended into being a multi Grand Slam champion during that period.

Favourite first round match: Zverev versus Landaluce