​Carlos Alcaraz is into the second round of the Vienna Open, having outlasted Karen Khachanov in a thrilling encounter laden with quality.In all honesty, this match had no right being an opening-round clash.The level on display throughout only further reinforced that notion, with some supreme shot-making at crucial moments.Speaking afterwards, Carlos Alcaraz acknowledged the quality of this encounter.Following his warm embrace with Khachanov at the net, he waxed lyrical about their match, whilst also praising the crowd in Vienna in his first match here in five years.Carlos Alcaraz praises Karen Khachanov for a great match in ViennaAlcaraz began with an assessment of today’s match, before recalling his feelings when leaving the court in 2021, the last time he played here in Vienna.“It was amazing. It was amazing to be honest,” he began.The Spaniard continued: “I don’t really know why I lost the last time that I played here back in 2021. I left the court, I left the tournament thinking like, all right, this crowd has something special, and I could experience it now today.“First round and you can see, packed stadium; the atmosphere was incredible. I really enjoyed it, even though I had to run, I had to fight, I had to sweat a lot, but I enjoyed [it].“I think we both pulled off great shots, great points, and I would say it was a great match to watch. So I’m just really, really happy about it.”At 5-4 in the second set, Alcaraz saw match points in a return game come and go. Khachanov then broke and had turned the set around, suddenly serving to take the match into a decider.Asked about his feelings as he conjured a comeback of his own, as he then broke back before winning the tiebreak, Alcaraz admitted: “I just was playing great. I was playing good. I mean, it was just that game.“I mean, those match points, I would say I could play them a little bit better. I would say I played too fast. I overplayed a couple of match points, and then it was a few mistakes, but you know, I was still happy, pleased about the level that I was playing. So it was time to be there, still stay fighting, still being strong mentally and trying to give myself another chance. “I did it in the 6-5, took the break point that I had, the first one, happy about it, and obviously I would say it was a great tiebreak.”This marks the start of a nightmare draw for Alcaraz in Vienna.It was also Alcaraz’s first appearance at the Vienna Open in five years.Carlos Alcaraz extends unbeaten record over Karen KhachanovAs shown by Sky Sports Tennis afterwards, by beating Khachanov today, he extended his winning run over the Russian to seven matches.Of all his rivalries, this is now the most one-sided in his career, having pulled away from the likes of Alex de Minaur, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Arthur Rinderknech.This trio all have the misfortune of a 6-0 losing record against Alcaraz, as did Khachanov before today.pic.twitter.com/LX0PI4nYIa— Germán R. Abril (@gerebit0) Oc