Karen Khachanov had just returned to playing at his best, delivering strong results on the big stages, including a quarterfinal at Wimbledon and a semifinal at the Toronto Masters. Those performances propelled him back into the top 10 after several years. Unfortunately, he then ran into fitness issues that halted his momentum and derailed his season, costing him a hard-earned top-10 spot.
Since retiring in the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters, the Russian has played five matches and lost four, currently riding a three-match losing streak. His most recent defeat was particularly disappointing, as he squandered a set lead to fall to the struggling Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round in Almaty. Entering as the top seed, Khachanov had an excellent opportunity to post a strong result that could have helped safeguard his top-10 status.
Khachanov has proven himself during the European indoor swing, highlighted by his title run at the Paris Masters, so there are still opportunities for him to deliver and finish the year inside the top 10. However, whether his fitness has improved enough to make that possible remains to be seen. He also has a strong track record at this venue in Vienna, having reached the quarterfinals or better on four occasions, including a runner-up finish in 2024.
Tallon Griekspoor has been struggling mentally over the past few months, and he openly acknowledged during the Asian swing that he isn’t finding joy on the court and is lacking confidence. This has shown in his results, with several tough losses. Even a big win over Jannik Sinner at the Shanghai Masters wasn’t enough to turn things around, as he followed it up with consecutive three-set losses to Valentin Vacherot in Shanghai and Jacob Fearnley in Stockholm.
The Dutchman has enjoyed some fantastic weeks on indoor hard courts across all levels throughout his career, compiling a solid win-loss record of 62–52. That said, he is yet to open his account in Vienna, where he made a single appearance in 2022 and lost in the first round to Marcos Giron.
Head-to-head: Tallon Griekspoor leads 1–0 (three-setter in Rotterdam 2019). Both players are fully capable of beating each other and can produce high-quality tennis on indoor hard courts. However, the fact that both are currently struggling, with confidence low and form inconsistent, makes this a highly open contest that could go either way. That said, Karen Khachanov, with big points to defend this week and chasing the top-10 spot back, may have slightly more motivation, giving him a potential edge.
