Alcaraz beats Basilashvili in Vienna to reach quarterfinals

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Georgias Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6 (13-11) in the Vienna ATP 500 round of 16. The match lasted one hour and 40 minutes and sent Alcaraz into the quarterfinals.

Alcaraz dominated the opening set, winning it 6-1 in about 28 minutes with only two unforced errors. He broke Basilashvili early and held his own serve to love to seal the first set.

“What looked like a comfortable victory turned into a headache for Carlos Alcaraz.”

The second set proved far more difficult. Basilashvili broke back to level at 3-3 and took his first lead of the match, forcing a tie-break.

Alcaraz saved five set points in the tie-break and had three unused match points before closing out 13-11. The Spaniard needed maximum effort after months away from competition.

Alcaraz, the world number three and second seed in Vienna, will face American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals. Paul is ranked fourteenth.

This was their third meeting, with Alcaraz improving to 3-0. He had previously won on clay at Roland Garros in 2021 and Madrid in 2022 without dropping a set.

Basilashvili, aged 34 and ranked 95th, had reached a career-high of 16th in May 2019. He pushed the favorite to the limit before eventually yielding.