Kevin Anderson digs deep to reach second round in Vienna
Kevin Anderson saved a match point as he came from a set down to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Vienna Open.
Basilashvili, who recently won the China Open, won the opening set 6-4 and held a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tie-breaker, but Anderson bounced back to win 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
The win boosted the South African’s chances of qualifying for his maiden ATP Tour Finals as he is currently seventh in the rankings.
Next up for the second seed is local hero Jurgen Melzer after the 37-year-old Austrian upset Milos Raonic 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.
Sixth seed Borna Coric, who finished runner-up at the Shanghai Masters, also had to come from a set down to beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-4.
In the top half of the draw, Andrey Rublev required just 61 minutes to see off American qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 while Marton Fucsovics beat wildcard Felix Auger-Aliassime 1-6, 6-0, 7-5.
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