Carlos Alcaraz had spent years complaining about slow, heavy balls. In Vienna, he decided to stop, and he left with the title. The Spaniard, a wildcard and the second seed, beat fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 27 minutes on Sunday to win the Erste Bank Open for the first time.

“At the tournaments I’ve played with conditions like these, I always struggled a lot and I was complaining every time,” Alcaraz said. “This week I just tried to accept it as it is, with this ball. I tried to be positive, I tried not to think about it too much and just keep going, and I think that’s helped me a lot.”

He had named the problem before his semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, which he won 6-4, 7-6 (2): after three or four games, he said, the ball becomes “really fluffy,” and “it’s really difficult to generate power on this ball.” Medvedev, a reporter told Alcaraz, had said the conditions were perfect for him.

Alcaraz solved them from the inside. “It’s just about me and the things that I have to do, the things that I really want to do well on the court,” he said. “Prioritizing the main goals in every match helped me to perform at my best.”

Alcaraz rebuilt his serve after Shanghai

The other change was technical. During his weeks at home after the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz rebuilt his serve. “I was very focused on the serve: the directions, the speed, above all the second serve, more than I had been doing during the year,” he said, in Spanish. “This week I’ve served very well, with a high percentage. The points won on my first serve have been very high, and that has given me a lot of calm in very important moments.”

De Minaur, who also lost to him in the 2025 Rotterdam final, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, saw a different Alcaraz this time. “I think it’s a lot harder to rush him,” the Australian said. “In these conditions he’s able to absorb the pace really well and still be able to redirect his shots. I thought he played at a much higher level than he did in Rotterdam.” Alcaraz now leads their head-to-head 7-0.

He also described a week with almost no mental wobbles. “There have been very few moments of doubt, of mental weakness, of complaining,” he said. “I’ve always been positive in my head.”

A perfect ATP 500 season for Alcaraz

The title completes a perfect season at ATP 500 level. Alcaraz is 16-0 at that level in 2026, with titles in Doha, Tokyo and now Vienna, and has not lost an ATP 500 match since the 2025 Barcelona final against Holger Rune. Vienna is his fourth title of 2026, after the Australian Open, Doha and Tokyo, and the 28th of his career.

It also came after a season cut in half. Alcaraz missed about four and a half months between April and August with a wrist injury, which cost him Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.

He made no promise to return, but left the door wide open. “A year can be really long,” he said. “Who knows which tournaments I’m going to play next year. But if I have to pick this week, Vienna is probably at the top of the list.”

Vienna 2026 final

• Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Alex de Minaur (5) 6-1, 6-4

Alcaraz’s path to the title

• First round: d. Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (5)
• Second round: d. Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 7-6 (11)
• Quarter-final: d. Tommy Paul (7) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
• Semi-final: d. Daniil Medvedev (3) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
• Final: d. Alex de Minaur (5) 6-1, 6-4

De Minaur’s path to the final

• First round: d. Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Second round: d. Learner Tien 6-4, 6-2
• Quarter-final: d. Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Semi-final: d. Alexander Zverev (1) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4)