Marton Fucsovics thirty-eight years after Balazs Taroczy

The Hungarian flag flies again on the Parc des Eaux-Vives. Thirty-eight years after the success of Balazs Taroczy during the first edition of the Martini Open, a Magyar player has, again, scooped the prize. Marton Fucsovics picked up the first title of his career with a 6-2 6-2 win over Peter Gojowczyk in the final of the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open tournament.

Marton Fucsovics, the sixtieth player in the world, took the final by storm against an opponent who unfortunately did not play in the same league as he had against Ivo Karlovic, David Ferrer, Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini. Too inconsistent, the German didn’t bring the comeback that was expected. But his week in Geneva, on a surface that is not his favourite, will undoubtedly remain one of the most outstanding of his career.

Stan Wawrinka’s ruthless “executioner” on Thursday night, Marton Fucosvics didn’t steal anything. The Hungarian made a very strong champion with this flat game that delighted purists. Junior Wimbledon Champion in 2010, Marton Fucsovics may have been provoking with this title at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open tournament the momentum he had hoped for many years. The 250 ATP points that reward his success will allow him to move from 60th place in the ATP ranking to approximately 45th. A rank that ensures that he now competes in all Masters 1000 tournaments. To finally play in the big leagues of sorts.

The doubles final went to Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. Seeded No. 1 in the draw, the Austrian and Croatian won 3-6 7-6(3) 11-9 against Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram (No. 2). Marach-Pavic have won a fifth title in Geneva since their partnership began in March 2017 in Miami. The most impressive was of course the Australian Open crown last January

A surprising final!

It may not be a dream final this Saturday afternoon, but it’s a final that has promise! Underdogs Peter Gojowczyk and Marton Fucsovics fought their way to the final of the fourth edition of the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open tournament.

Under the blazing sun, spectators witnessed a beautiful victory of the German Peter Gojowczyk in the early afternoon, against the No. 2 seed Fabio Fognini. The Italian who seemed to get hit in the calf, did not manage to reach the final, even though he could nearly touch it. Peter Gojowczyk, 49th in the world, will face another outsider tomorrow in the form of Marton Fucsovics. The 26-year-old Hungarian defeated American Steve Johnson in three sets (2-6 6-4 6-1). The latter, however, had all the cards in hand to finally reach the final of the Geneva tournament that he has been coveting for three years now. The Californian led 6-2 3-0 before Marton Fucsovics completely reversed the situation and won ten of the next eleven games. The Hungarian, ranked 60th at the ATP, is now making his way up to the final of a tournament for the first time in his career.

A bad day for Steve Johnson
The American had two opportunities to reach a final of the Eric Sturdza Bank Geneva Open tournament. Just out of Central where he had just lost to Marton Fucsovics, Steve Johnson joined Court No. 1 where he met his compatriot Sam Querrey to face the No. 2 seeds of the tournament, Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram. After losing the tie-break of the first set, the Yankee duo didn’t know how to find the way back in. This was also true at Central where world No. 2 Mate Pavic and Oliver Marach beat Robert Lindstedt and Andrei Vasilevski. A dream final between the two big favourites in this doubles draw!

Marton’s shot!

Stan Wawrinka will not defend his Eric Sturdza Bank Geneva Open title on Saturday. He was subjected to the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics’ ruling tonight and failed to find a way to get his head out of the water.

If the sun was back at Parc des Eaux-Vives on the penultimate day of the tournament, it unfortunately did not smile at the Swiss. In the afternoon, it was first of all the 100% Genevois duo who lost to Robert Lindstedt and Andrei Vasilevski (7-6(5) 3-6 12-10). Despite a great battle – the young Swiss talents didn’t budge an inch! –, the experience of their opponents made the distinction. Emotions ran high however, as Antoine Bellier and Johan Nikles proved that they had nothing to be ashamed of against some of the best doubles teams in the world, losing only to a super tie-break even after having a match point in their favour.

After a very good performance late Wednesday night, Stan Wawrinka failed to repeat the feat. The Vaudois was sadly a tone below, the blame belonging above all to his opponent, Marton Fucsovics, who gave almost no points, and perhaps also to a still impaired physical condition. Or perhaps even the doubts in the head of the double champion of the Bank Eric Sturdza Geneva Open after his long absence from the courts.

Stan Wawrinka is not the only seeded player in the tournament who has been knocked out. Earlier this morning, Sam Querrey (No. 1) left Central with his head bowed after losing to Argentina’s Guido Pella. Only Steve Johnson (N°6), who scored a remarkable feat today, winning both matches (and avenging his buddy Sam Querrey!), and Fabio Fognini (N°2) are still in the race for the title. But the door to the final also remains wide open for the outsiders Peter Gojowczyk (ATP 49) and Marton Fucsovics (ATP 60).

103 days waiting

A mighty Stan Wawrinka and a fully concentrated Fabio Fognini: started under the rain, Wednesday’s Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open tournament ended in climax with the qualification for the quarter-finals of the two top seeds.

Fabio Fognini won 6-7 (5) 6-2 6-2 against Noah Rubin. The Italian was able to make a perfect recovery after losing the first set. With this determination, he made it clear that he had come to Geneva with the sole aim of winning the tournament. Therefore, he intends to take another step towards this pursuit this Thursday against Tennys Sandgren.

Stan Wawrinka entered the court at 9:14 p.m. and was able to swiftly find his way back to victory after a long wait of 103 days. This 6-3 6-4 win over Jared Donaldson is the ninth in a row that the double defending champion has picked up on the Eaux-Vives soil. We are hoping for the tenth this Thursday against Marton Fucsovics. “It’s been a long time since I’ve played two games in a row,” said Stan Wawrinka. We’ll see how I handle this second game in less than 24 hours.”

A quick lap and it’s off…

7:40 pm, sharp. Following the heavy showers which came down over the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open site, the decision was made to cancel all the evening matches, in particular the match between Stan Wawrinka and Jared Donaldson.

Beforehand, the hot afternoon sun did not bring any luck to the Iberians. The No. 4 and No. 5 seeds will have fizzled at the end. The Spaniards Albert Ramos-Vinolas and David Ferrer were largely beaten on the third day of competition.

It was Albert Ramos-Vinolas who first suffered the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics’ law. The Barcelonian could only score three small games before taking the exit: 1-6 2-6 in 1h20 of play! Following the unfortunate example of his compatriot, it was then David Ferrer, a few hours later, who was suddenly eliminated by the German Peter Gojowczyk. The former world number 3 failed to find the answers against his opponent and his formidable service, making a succession of obvious mistakes and ultimately losing 2-6 4-6.

It’s worth mentioning that Steve Johnson won in two sets against Marius Copil and the Czech Lukas Rosol against his compatriot Jiri Vesely. After erasing two match points in the tie-break of the second set, the 32-year-old was able to let his excitement show at the end of the tie-break of the last set.