'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Day 1 (Monday, October 20) of the Erste Bank Open 2025 in Vienna will mark the start of the tournament. Jack Draper won't be returning to defend his title after shutting down his season a few weeks ago due to an injury.
Jannik Sinner, the champion here in 2023, leads the field as the top seed. His top 10 cohorts Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov are also in the fray.
The tournament serves as the perfect warm-up for the season's final Masters 1000 tournament, the Paris Masters, which begins next week. On that note, here's a look at the predictions for the first-round matches set for Day 1 of the Erste Bank Open 2025:
Trending
#1. Brandon Nakashima vs Luciano Darderi
Nakashima has put together a 31-26 record this year. Highlights of his season include semifinal appearances in Houston, Acapulco, and Chengdu, along with fourth-round showings at the Masters 1000 tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.
Darderi has won three titles and has amassed a 29-24 record this year. However, most of his success has exclusively been on clay. He has a 6-12 record on hardcourts, with a 1-10 record against top 100 players. Nine of those losses have been in straight sets.
Darderi leads Nakashima 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the Hamburg Open 2025, a clay tournament, in three sets. Now that they're meeting on hardcourts, the American will be favored to come out on top considering Darderi's poor record on the surface.
Predicted winner: Brandon Nakashima to win in straight sets.
#2. Aleksandar Kovacevic vs Matteo Arnaldi
Kovacevic has been quite inconsistent this season. He has a 13-20 record this year, with eight of those wins coming from his runner-up finishes in Montpellier and Los Cabos. He got a lucky break at last week's Stockholm Open, snapping his four-match losing skid after Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired in the first round. He lost to Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.
Arnaldi has compiled a 19-23 record for the season. His results have been quite all over the place as well. A quarterfinal showing at the Madrid Open has been the high point of his season. He lost to Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of last week's European Open, marking his seventh defeat from his last eight matches.
Both players are in dire need of a win. Given their poor string of results over the past two months, this contest could swing either way. Arnaldi won their previous and only meeting at the Indian Wells Masters earlier this year in three sets. However, now that they're playing on indoor hardcourts, the conditions could help Kovacevic avenge his prior loss.
Predicted winner: Aleksandar Kovacevic to win in three sets.
#3. Karen Khachanov vs Tallon Griekspoor
Predicted winner: Tallon Griekspoor to win in three sets.
#4. Alex de Minaur vs Jurij Rodionov
Predicted winner: Alex de Minaur to win in straight sets.
#5. Alexander Bublik vs Alejandro Tabilo
Predicted winner: Alexander Bublik to win in straight sets.
