{"article":{"id":"cbc3e2ca-dcb3-4863-92a2-2183db269fbc","slug":"de-minaur-survives-vienna-scare-as-ruud-and-rune-escape-in-basel-2026-10-27-morn","title":"De Minaur survives Vienna scare as Ruud and Rune escape in Basel","dek":"Alex de Minaur came back from a set and a break down to beat Tomas Machac in Vienna and keep his ATP Finals hopes alive, while Casper Ruud and Holger Rune survived first-round scares in Basel.","body_md":"## De Minaur digs out of trouble in Vienna\n\nAlex de Minaur kept his Nitto ATP Finals hopes alive on Monday, storming back from a set and a break down to beat Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The fifth seed and world No. 10 looked headed for an early exit when Machac raced through the opening set and moved 4-2 ahead in the second, but de Minaur won the last four games of that set and broke three times in the decider.\n\n## A match that turned in minutes\n\nThe early stages belonged entirely to Machac. The Czech qualifier, a former top-20 player, was hitting winners freely, and de Minaur was struggling badly on serve. At a set and a break down, with his season-ending hopes on the line, de Minaur needed something to change quickly, and it did. He held serve under pressure, broke Machac in a long, three-deuce game, survived another testing service game, and then broke again to steal the second set.\n\nThat swing changed the match. In the deciding set, de Minaur's returning took over, and he closed out a near-two-hour win with an ace.\n\n\"I have dug deep, found a way to get a crucial break when I needed it and the momentum changed,\" de Minaur said afterwards.\n\n## The Finals race stays open\n\nThe win matters far beyond one first-round result. De Minaur began the Vienna week tenth in the standings for the eight-man finale in Turin, and with Jannik Sinner's competitive season over, a place inside the top nine is enough to qualify. A first-round defeat would have been a serious blow with so few events left. Instead, he lives to fight another day, and his next opponent in the last 16 is American Learner Tien, who also won on Monday.\n\nTien beat France's Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-1, setting up a meeting with de Minaur that now carries real weight for the Australian's Turin hopes.\n\n## Mensik cruises as Vienna's seeds mostly hold\n\nElsewhere in Vienna, the seeded players largely avoided trouble. Eighth seed Jakub Mensik cruised past Austrian Lukas Neumayer 6-2, 6-2 in 63 minutes, barely giving the home qualifier a look at a break point. It was the kind of efficient, untroubled win that top players want at the start of a busy indoor week.\n\nItalians Matteo Berrettini and Luciano Darderi also advanced in straight sets, while Arthur Fery led Jacob Fearnley 5-1 when Fearnley retired.\n\n![Casper Ruud in action (file photo)](https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1793070070696-tdpp0a-tennis-inside1-2026-10-27-morning.jpg)\n\n## Ruud survives a home favourite in Basel\n\nIn Basel, ninth seed Casper Ruud also had to come from behind in the first round of the Swiss Indoors. The Norwegian outlasted Swiss wild card Dominic Stricker 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, despite Stricker producing the better numbers in several departments. Stricker finished with a 13-12 edge in aces, more winners by 37-29, and fewer unforced errors, 18 to Ruud's 26, but he could not break Ruud's serve across the final two sets, and that proved decisive.\n\nRuud levelled the match 7-5, then pulled away in the decider as Stricker's level dipped just enough.\n\n## Rune wins an ace barrage in Basel\n\nThe most dramatic match of the day in Basel belonged to Holger Rune. The Dane withstood 32 aces from France's Quentin Halys and emerged with a 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) victory in two hours and 40 minutes, his first ATP-level win since his comeback from Achilles surgery. Rune hit 13 aces of his own, saved all five break points he faced, and showed remarkable composure in a final-set tiebreak that almost slipped away.\n\nRune led that tiebreak 5-1, only for Halys to level at 5-5. A Halys double fault at 5-5 opened the door, and Rune converted his only match point with a half-volley. The former world No. 4 improved to 11-3 lifetime in Basel, where he reached the final on his debut in 2022.\n\nGerman lucky loser Daniel Altmaier also beat Argentine qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4, while Portugal's Nuno Borges and Monaco's Valentin Vacherot won in straight sets.\n\n![Holger Rune in action (file photo)](https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1793070261321-vg24ri-tennis-inside2-2026-10-27-morning.jpg)\n\n## What Monday means for the week ahead\n\nMonday's results set up a fascinating week in both cities. In Vienna, de Minaur's comeback keeps the Turin race alive ahead of his meeting with Tien, while Mensik, Berrettini and Darderi will believe they can go deep. In Basel, Ruud and Rune both survived very different tests.\n\nNeither tournament will be won in the first round. But first rounds can end seasons, and on Monday, the players who most needed to survive did exactly that.","cover_url":"https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1793070067599-32bjpx-tennis-cover-2026-10-27-morning.jpg","cover_alt":"Alex de Minaur in action (file photo from Vienna report)","locale":"en","translation_group_key":"de-minaur-survives-vienna-scare-as-ruud-and-rune-escape-in-basel-2026-10-27-morn","source_locale":null,"published_at":"2026-10-27T03:04:24.779+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-27T03:04:24.842326+00:00","read_minutes":4,"word_count":772,"tldr":["Alex de Minaur beat Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Vienna first round after trailing by a set and 4-2 in the second.","De Minaur won the last four games of the second set and broke three times in the decider to keep his ATP Finals hopes alive.","Jakub Mensik beat Lukas Neumayer 6-2, 6-2 in 63 minutes in Vienna, while Learner Tien beat Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-1.","Matteo Berrettini and Luciano Darderi advanced in straight sets in Vienna, and Arthur Fery led Jacob Fearnley 5-1 when Fearnley retired.","Casper Ruud beat Dominic Stricker 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Basel despite Stricker leading 13-12 in aces and 37-29 in winners.","Holger Rune survived 32 aces from Quentin Halys to win 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in Basel in two hours and 40 minutes.","Daniel Altmaier beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 in Basel, while Nuno Borges and Valentin Vacherot won in straight sets."],"key_points":["Alex de Minaur beat Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Vienna first round after trailing by a set and 4-2 in the second.","De Minaur won the last four games of the second set and broke three times in the decider to keep his ATP Finals hopes alive.","Jakub Mensik beat Lukas Neumayer 6-2, 6-2 in 63 minutes in Vienna, while Learner Tien beat Luca Van Assche 6-3, 6-1.","Matteo Berrettini and Luciano Darderi advanced in straight sets in Vienna, and Arthur Fery led Jacob Fearnley 5-1 when Fearnley retired.","Casper Ruud beat Dominic Stricker 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Basel despite Stricker leading 13-12 in aces and 37-29 in winners.","Holger Rune survived 32 aces from Quentin Halys to win 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in Basel in two hours and 40 minutes.","Daniel Altmaier beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 in Basel, while Nuno Borges and Valentin Vacherot won in straight sets."],"entities":["Alex de Minaur","Tomas Machac","Erste Bank Open","Vienna","Nitto ATP Finals","Turin","Jakub Mensik","Lukas Neumayer","Learner Tien","Luca Van Assche","Matteo Berrettini","Luciano Darderi","Casper Ruud","Dominic Stricker","Swiss Indoors","Basel","Holger Rune","Quentin Halys"],"seo_title":"De Minaur survives Vienna scare, Rune wins in Basel","seo_description":"Alex de Minaur rallied past Tomas Machac in Vienna to keep his ATP Finals hopes alive, while Casper Ruud and Holger Rune survived first-round scares in Basel.","gallery":[{"alt":"De Minaur survives Vienna scare as Ruud and Rune escape in Basel - inside1","url":"https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1793070070696-tdpp0a-tennis-inside1-2026-10-27-morning.jpg"},{"alt":"De Minaur survives Vienna scare as Ruud and Rune escape in Basel - inside2","url":"https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1793070261321-vg24ri-tennis-inside2-2026-10-27-morning.jpg"}],"video":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/atp-roundup-alex-de-minaur-survives-scare-vienna--flm-2026-10-27/","name":"reuters.com","note":"De Minaur beat Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 after trailing 4-2 in the second set, winning its last four games and breaking three times in the decider; Mensik beat Neumayer 6-2, 6-2 in 63 minutes; Tien beat Van Assche 6-3, 6-1; Berrettini and Darderi advanced in straight sets; Fery led Fearnley 5-1 when Fearnley retired."},{"url":"https://srnnews.com/atp-roundup-alex-de-minaur-survives-scare-in-vienna/","name":"srnnews.com","note":"Ruud beat Stricker 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, with Stricker leading 13-12 in aces, 37-29 in winners and 18-26 in unforced errors, but unable to break Ruud in the final two sets; Altmaier beat Cerundolo 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4; Rune beat Halys 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5); Borges and Vacherot won in straight sets."},{"url":"https://tennisnow.com/rune-nets-first-atp-main-draw-win-of-comeback-in-basel/","name":"tennisnow.com","note":"Rune withstood 32 aces, won 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) in two hours and 40 minutes, saved all five break points, rallied from 5-1 to 5-5 in the deciding tiebreak, and won on his only match point with a half-volley."},{"url":"https://aapnews.aap.com.au/news/demon-delivers-stunning-comeback-to-win-in-vienna","name":"aapnews.aap.com.au","note":"De Minaur said he dug deep and found a crucial break when momentum changed; he began Vienna tenth in the race for Turin and needs the top nine with Sinner's season over; he next meets Learner Tien."},{"url":"https://www.tennis.com/tournaments/swiss-indoors-basel?date=2026-10-26","name":"tennis.com","note":"Basel first-round scores corroborate Ruud, Rune, Altmaier, Borges and Vacherot results on 26 October 2026."}],"category":{"name":"Tennis & Table Tennis","slug":"tennis","accent_color":"#EAB308"},"author":null,"alternate_locales":[{"locale":"en","title":"De Minaur survives Vienna scare as Ruud and Rune escape in Basel","slug":"de-minaur-survives-vienna-scare-as-ruud-and-rune-escape-in-basel-2026-10-27-morn","url":"https://sportsbriefly.com/en/tennis/de-minaur-survives-vienna-scare-as-ruud-and-rune-escape-in-basel-2026-10-27-morn"}]}}