The ATP hardcourt swing has reached Vienna and Daniil Medvedev is being heavily backed to win the Erste Bank Open this week.
Who do Bettors Favor?
Checking out the main Las Vegas sportsbooks we can see that Daniil Medvedev is the clear favorite with sportsbooks. He can be backed at +300 ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas at +550 and Andrey Rublev at +800. Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz are also prominent in the betting at odds of +800 and +1400, respectively.
The Erste Bank Open, also known as the Vienna Open, is one of two ATP 500 hardcourt indoor tournaments staged this week, with a prize fund of €2.48 million. It was first held in 1974 and has been won by many of the top players of the modern era, though it has not been dominated by any player. Roger Federer has won it twice, as has Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic has won once.
The event is staged at the indoor hardcourts of the Wiener Stadthalle, which have been among the fastest courts on the hardcourt circuit. The figures for aces and service points won are usually higher than the ATP average for hardcourts, so stronger servers will be at a clear advantage this week. The tournament also features no byes, so all seeds will have to win five games to lift the trophy.
Betting on the Erste Bank Favorite
Daniil Medvedev goes into the tournament as the top seed and favorite as he heads toward the end of what has been an inconsistent season. The highlight of his 2022 came in the first Grand Slam event when he took Rafael Nadal to five sets in the final, but an injury interrupted his campaign. When last seen on the court, he had to withdraw from the Astana Open semi-final when two sets down to Novak Djokovic.
At his best, Medvedev has the perfect game for this type of surface. Still, there has been too much inconsistency in his performances this year to back him with confidence, mainly as it is not entirely clear how to fit he is for this tournament.
Vienna Open Main Contenders
Among the other main contenders in Vienna is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the final in Astana. He lost that final to Djokovic but reached the final of the Stockholm Open this week and is clearly in good form. He is also one of the more consistent players on the ATP Tour and regularly goes deep in tournaments, however, he’s not at his best on ultra-fast hardcourts, so doesn’t appeal here.
Jannik Sinner could be a better option in Austria this week. The top-ranked Italian player on the ATP Tour, Sinner, has been having a strong season, backing up his surge into the top ten last year. Although he has had a few injury problems along the way, he has shown plenty of resilience to return to good form each time. And at his best, there are few better hardcourt players on the Tour.
Sinner notably pushed Djokovic hard at Wimbledon this year and took the US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz to five sets at Flushing Meadow in August. He also has plenty of motivation to go all out in Vienna this week. Qualification for the ATP Tour finals in Turin is still up for grabs, and he has a good chance of making it, so we expect him to be pushing hard in Austria.
Andrey Rublev is another interesting contender this week. The Russian won this event in 2020 and has been in good form over the last few weeks. He reached the quarterfinals of the US Open and followed that up by getting as far as the semi-finals in Astana, eventually losing to Tsitsipas. Then, last week, he picked up his fourth title of the year when he won the Gijon Open, knocking out Tommy Paul, Dominic Thiem, and Sebastian Korda on his way to the title. There are few players in better form at the moment, and has proven himself on these courts, he looks like a solid bet this week.
Among the betting underdogs at bigger odds, there are one or two interesting betting possibilities, but Taylor Fritz could be the best option. The American is close to qualifying for the Tour Finals at the end of an excellent season, in which he has won three tournaments. His latest came earlier this month in Japan, where he beat Denis Shapovalov, Nick Kyrgios, and Frances Tiafoe on his way to the title. His dominant serve will be an advantage here, and he offers some value.
For more than a decade and a half, Teri Geis has carved a niche in the world of betting. Her writing has graced the pages of some of the industry's heavy hitters, including the likes of Betfair, ESPN, and Sporting Life. With her extensive understanding of sports betting, readers can now peruse her insightful reviews, features, and previews here on this website.