He has taken to his No. 1 seeded status with class and panache. “Sascha” Zverev won 6-2 6-1 with ease, in just over an hour against Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Earlier in the day, another winner of the London Masters did not have the same success and left through the back door.

Grigor Dimitrov failed to link the success. After brilliantly coming out of the qualifiers, the Bulgarian, who has just turned 28, did not hold out against the Argentinean clay specialist, Federico Delbonis. He had won the first set 6-1, but did not find the solutions he needed afterwards. Delbonis, who will meet the 2018 finalist Marton Fucsovics in the second round, won 1-6 6-4 6-2.

To start the night session with some delay (the matches lasted longer than expected, to the delight of the audience!), Alexander Zverev was highly anticipated. The world number 5 made short work of his opponent of the day, Ernests Gulbis, pocketing an “easy” win. The 22-year-old German is thrilled to find his bearings in an arena that reminds him of Munich, both in the atmosphere and in the climate.

In other games of the day, Joao Sousa defeated Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer in three sets, 6-2 6-7 6-4. Qualified Damir Dzumhur also continued his fine epic duel by winning a hard fought (6-7 6-4 7-5) against the almost veteran Feliciano Lopez. Finally, to close this long day, the Bolivian Hugo Dellien pocketed his ticket to the quarterfinals against Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 6-3.

These are two players out of the qualifications that can feed beautiful ambitions, and Ernests Gulbis is still as volcanic as ever: the spectacle on Sunday at the Parc des Eaux-Vives by the Bank Eric Sturdza Geneva Open was well worth the detour.

In front of a large audience, Grigor Dimitrov (ATP 48) validated his ticket for the main draw. Winning 7-5 6-3 to Italian Thomas Fabbiano (ATP 100), the Bulgarian will return on court on Monday for his first round against Argentina’s Federico Delbonis (ATP 78) in the shock encounter for the day, at 18:00 on the program.

Quarter-finalist this spring in Monte Carlo, where he was already a qualifier, Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 67) beat 6-4 7-6 (7/5) Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP 84) after an excellent level match. Like Dimitrov, the Turin will chain a third meeting in three days. He is called to challenge Moldovan Radu Albot (ATP 44).

For his return to Parc des Eaux-Vives, three years after a defeat to Marin Cilic, Ernests Gulbis (ATP 74) has been true to his character. The Latvian defeated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka (ATP 75) 6-2 7-6 (9/7) at the end of a meeting rich in twists that cost him … two rackets. The price to pay to finally win a game after a run of nine straight defeats.

Ernests Gulbis will be opposed by the seeded No. 1 in the tournament, Alexander Zverev. The younger Zverev will undoubtedly be keen to restore the family’s honor after the defeat of Mischa, a finalist two years ago, who was beaten 6-4 6-4 by the Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero (ATP 73).

Despite real bravery, Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 276) did not manage to reverse the odds at the Bank Eric Sturdza Geneva Open. The Zurich-man logically inclined 6-4 6-3 in the first qualifying round in front of Grigor Dimitrov (ATP 48). Two breaks were enough for the winner of the 2017 Masters to win on the Central court Parc des Eaux Vives in front of a well-filled stand.

“I want to go back to the top!” Grigor Dimitrov made no secret of his intentions. “I am here to regain new confidence. Honestly, I have no expectations on this tournament, but I’m hungry. My two coaches, Radek Stepanek and Andre Agassi, are also hungry. The fact that Andre Agassi came to follow me here at Parc des Eaux-Vives in my first match underlines the investment that can be made in this adventure. Our relationship is really strong.”

This Sunday, the protégé of Radek Stepanek and Andre Agassi, who didn’t avert their gaze during his match against the Swiss hopeful, will face Thomas Fabbiano (ATP 100) for a place in the main draw. Dimitrov won 7-6 6-4 6-4 last January in front of the Italian in the first round of the Australian Open for their only confrontation to date.

The first two meetings of the main draw will follow this match between Dimitrov and Fabbiano. They will pit Ernests Gulbis against Yoshihito Nishioka and Mischa Zverev, the 2017 finalist, against Juan Ignacio Londero.