After two years with an “incredible starting field”, the Erste Bank Open is impressive again this year. At a media event today, Wednesday, tournament director Herwig Straka said: “As it looks, we will definitely be able to have five top ten players in Vienna again.” However, unlike in previous years, Basel will also open at the same time. That creates a lot of competition. So Roger Federer will definitely play in his homeland. It is highly likely that young Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz will also play in Switzerland. “He’s the new superstar, one who’s always in demand. We tried it with him on all levels. The train didn’t leave, but Basel is advertising very aggressively.”
Thanks to four tournament victories, the Spaniard (19) has already climbed to sixth place in the ranking in 2022. There is no trend yet for world number one Novak Djokovic and Spanish clay court king Rafael Nadal. “We’re talking to both of them, both of them don’t want to make a decision yet,” said the Styrian. With Nadal, a lot will depend on whether he still needs points for his ranking at that point. “Then Vienna is definitely an issue, otherwise indoors is not his preferred surface,” said Straka after a personal conversation with the Spaniard.
The participation of last year’s two finalists is much more likely. The German Alexander Zverev had the upper hand as number two in the final against Frances Tiafoe from the USA with 7: 5, 6: 4. “Of course he also has his ideas, but I assume it will work,” said Dominic Thiem’s ex-manager optimistically. With Tiafoe one is already “commercial one”. “He’s important to us, someone who has emotionalized people and also lured the kids to the stadium.”
