Vienna: Alcaraz sees off Khachanov 6-4, 7-6(6), José Moron calls it “absolute madness”

Carlos Alcaraz needed two hours to see off Karen Khachanov in the first round of the Vienna ATP 500, and the final score, 6-4, 7-6(6), tells of a match that turned on a single service game. In Austria on a wildcard, the Spaniard dropped no set, but he came within a game of losing the second.

At 5-6, Alcaraz breaks for the set

The first set ran Alcaraz’s way, 6-4, with a third-game rally that We Love Tennis ranks among the points of the year and that even Khachanov applauded. The second set put the match back in the balance: at 6-5, Khachanov served to level at one set all, and Alcaraz broke before closing it out in the tie-break.

“Absolute madness”, says José Moron

That finish drew a reaction from José Moron, director of the Spanish-language tennis outlet Punto de Break: “What Alcaraz played from there was absolute madness. When he raises his level, Carlos is unbeatable,” he wrote on X, and We Love Tennis picked up the French version. In the original Spanish, the word is “barrabasada”, and it was Khachanov serving for the set; the French write-up gives Alcaraz a service he never took.

Mannarino through as well, Alcaraz yet to drop a set

The day in Vienna carried a second headline: Adrian Mannarino came from behind to beat Ignacio Buse in three sets (2-1) and reach the second round, L’Équipe reports. Alcaraz moves on with no set dropped and two hours of tennis in his legs. My note for the rest of the week: at 5-6 against an opponent’s serve, he still comes away with the set. Betting against him set by set has a price.