Nikoloz Basilashvili dented Tomas Berdych's chances of making the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Monday at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna.
The Georgian qualifier upset the second-seeded Czech 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 in two hours and 35 minutes. Basilashvili won 74 per cent of his first-serve points and refused to go away against Berdych, who was looking to get his season back on track after opening losses in Tokyo and Shanghai.
The 31 year old also was looking to firm up his spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London. Berdych is currently in ninth place, 325 points behind eighth-placed Dominic Thiem, who's the third seed in Vienna. Now that Berdych is out, two players could pass him with good weeks at the Swiss Indoors Basel: Belgian David Goffin, who is 190 points behind Berdych and is the fifth seed in Switzerland; and Marin Cilic, who trails Berdych by 245 points after winning his first-round match in Basel on Monday.
View the Emirates ATP Race To London standings
Instead, Basilashvili celebrated his first Top 10 win and moved into the second round in Austria. He will face Russian qualifier Karen Khachanov, the youngest player in the draw, who used some efficient serving to advance.
Khachanov won 82 per cent of his first-serve points to dismiss Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes. The 20 year old, a member of the ATP Next Generation, captured his maiden title earlier this month at the Chengdu Open (d. Ramos-Vinolas).
The top ace leaders in this year's Infosys ATP Scores & Stats also served their way into the second round. Eighth seed Ivo Karlovic, the top ace hitter before Monday with 1,003, blasted 16 more while beating Steve Johnson 7-6(5), 6-3. Karlovic, who also swept Johnson in Washington, saved all six break points against the American, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Vienna last season (l. to Ferrer).
View more statistics at the ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS
The 37-year-old Croatian will meet Bosnian qualifier Damir Dzumhur, who outlasted Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.
John Isner, who entered Monday second in aces with 997, struck 18 aces and saved all seven break points in his comeback win against German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4. The American, who now has 1,015 aces, surpassed the 1,000 mark for the fourth time in his career. He also did in 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Karlovic has led the ATP World Tour in aces five times: 2007-09, '14-15; Isner, three times: 2010, '12-13. Isner will look to pad his total against seventh seed Lucas Pouille or Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the second round.
[ALSO LIKE]