Second-round action in Vienna wraps up on Thursday, when seeds Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik get back on the court. They have intriguing matchups on their hands with Corentin Moutet and Francisco Cerundolo, respectively.
(6) Daniil Medvedev vs. Corentin Moutet
Medvedev and Moutet will add another chapter to their 2025 rivalry when they meet again in round two of the Erste Bank Open on Thursday. They split two recent meetings; Moutet pulled off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset in Washington, D.C. before Medvedev triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in this past Sunday’s Almaty final. The 29-year-old Russian leads the overall head-to-head series 2-1, having also prevailed 6-4, 6-2 on the grass courts of Mallorca in 2021.
Medvedev’s title in Almaty was–shockingly–his first since the spring of 2023 in Rome. Despite that drought, the world No. 14 has played decent tennis this season and a coaching change seems to have done him some good (he split from Gilles Cervara following the U.S. Open and hired Thomas Johansson). Medvedev opened in Vienna with a 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-2 victory over Nuno Borges on Wednesday, while Moutet erased Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-0. The 36th-ranked Frenchman is always a tough out, but Medvedev is a fantastic indoor hard-court player and should once again have the edge on Thursday.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
Francisco Cerundolo vs. (8) Alexander Bublik
Bublik is coming down the stretch of his best and certainly most consistent season on tour. The 16th-ranked Kazakh has captured four titles (all since the start of the grass-court swing) in addition to a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros and a fourth-round showing at the U.S. Open. Bublik kicked off his week in Vienna by cruising past Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-4.
Up next for the eighth seed is a second meeting with Cerundolo, who dominated their only previous encounter 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-2 at this year’s Australian Open. Although that was well before Bublik caught fire, it is still an advantage for Cerundolo to know that he is capable of handling his opponent’s huge serve. The 21st-ranked Argentine is an underrated player on faster surfaces, which he showed again by destroying Alex Michelson 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday. Don’t be surprised if a minor upset is in the cards.
Pick: Cerundolo in 3
WWW?
Meddy and Bublik in three
Bublik in 2. I believe he’s going to make a statement win here. Cerundolo has been in horrible form and he played a player and beat a player who is in horrendous form in Michelsen. Based off the current form and venue look forward to a motivated Bublik to take charge and get off to a strong resounding straight sets win.
good call
I know
Royer shouldve won also. You got lucky.
he absolutely should not have lol