Home favourite Dominic Thiem makes winning start at Erste Bank Open in Vienna

Second seed Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Swiss Indoors Basel after losing to American Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the first round.

Zverev squandered a 4-0 lead in the first set tie-break as Fritz claimed a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory in an hour and 25 minutes.

“I played really solid, so it feels good to get that win instead of him getting me for the third time in a row,” said a delighted Fritz. “I got out there today and the sliders [on my serve] were working well.”

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had to work hard to avoid a similar upset, the 21-year-old battling to a 6-3 7-6 (6) victory in the evening session against Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Moldova’s Radu Albot recovered from losing the opening set to beat Dusan Lajovic 2-6 6-3 6-4 and secure a second-round clash with top seed and nine-time champion Roger Federer.

Fifth-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini enjoyed a comfortable 6-2 6-4 win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, while American Reilly Opelka came out on top in two tie-breaks in a serving duel with Chilean Cristian Garin.

Opelka saved two set points in the second tie-break, finishing the contest with 27 aces and winning 98 per cent of points on his first serve.

Austrian Dominic Thiem started one of his favourite weeks of the season with a first win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, beating the Frenchman 6-4 7-6 (2) to reach the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Thiem will next face Fernando Verdasco, who beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6 6-2 6-1, while South Korea’s Hyeon Chung overcame Milos Raonic 6-4 7-5.

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