by Patrick FAVRE | 23 May, 2023 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Four years on from defeating Nicolas Jarry to win the title, Alexander Zverev (ATP 27) made a winning return to the Court Central at the Parc des Eaux-Vives, beating the USA’s Christopher Eubanks (ATP 75) 6-2 6-3.
In what he described as an excellent match, the Olympic champion did not take long to find his bearings against an opponent who can pack a real punch, producing a high-quality performance. Seemingly on his way to regaining his very best form, the German should be in the mix for the title with the likes of Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov.
Zverev will now face Yibing Wu (ATP 59), victorious today against Marco Cecchinato (ATP 73), in the quarter-finals on Thursday. It promises to be quite a match, with the Chinese player, who saved a match point against Marc-Andrea Hüsler on Monday evening, playing a unique brand of tennis, much like Eubanks, and looking to win points fast more often than not. Zverev knows what he has to do: return well and mix it up and that way remind his opponent how clay court tennis is governed by its own specific laws.
by Patrick FAVRE | 22 May, 2023 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
The 2023 Gonet Geneva Open has not proved a happy hunting ground for Swiss players so far. Following Jérôme Kym’s unfortunate exit in the first round of the qualifying competition on Saturday, Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 81) came up just short against Yibing Wu (ATP 59), the Zurich-born left-hander going down 6-4 4-6 7-6 (6) to the first Chinese player to win an ATP tournament, in Dallas earlier this year.
The main attraction on today’s order of play, the match turned into something of a nightmare for the Swiss No. 1, who had a match point at 6-5 in the third-set tie-break and failed to do much with it. Wu played the next two points to perfection to book his place in the next round, where he will face Marco Cecchinato.
Hüsler also passed up two break points that would have left him serving for the match at 5-2 and then lost his own serve from 40-0 in the very next game. The Swiss player’s failure to get across the line is perhaps a reflection of his low confidence following five defeats and only two wins on clay heading into what was his main-draw debut at the Gonet Geneva Open.
Adrian Mannarino (ATP 47) had no such problems as he swung his left arm to great effect to beat Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic (ATP 92) 7-5 6-1. Beaten in the first round on his last two appearances at the Parc des Eaux-Vives, the win was a welcome one for the Frenchman.
by Patrick FAVRE | 21 May, 2023 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
US prodigy Ben Shelton (ATP 35) had his stay in Switzerland cut short on Sunday, coming off second best in a three-setter lasting a shade over two hours to Marco Cecchinato (ATP 83). The 21-year-old No. 5 seed passed up an excellent opportunity to see off the Gonet Geneva Open regular, coughing up a 5-3 lead in the first set, with the Italian eventually running out a 7-5 2-6 6-2 winner
While the Atlanta-born player rues his missed opportunity, Cecchinato – a Roland-Garros 2018 semi-finalist just days after a first-round loss at the Parc des Eaux-Vives – will now take on the winner of the opening match in today’s night session between Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 82) and Yibing Wu (ATP 57).
Sunday’s last day match was a clash of the giants, with just five centimetres separating Benoît Paire (ATP 160) at 1.96m and Christopher Eubanks (ATP 86) at 2.01m. Not for the first time, the most Genevese of the French players turned in an inconsistent performance. An evenly contested first set was decided by a one-sided tie-break in which the Avignon man never got going. His confidence seemingly dented, Paire lost his serve at the start of the second and fell 4-0 behind. Though he showed some pride in pulling back to 4-3, Eubanks kept his cool to force the Frenchman to serve to stay in the match at 5-3. The 27-year-old American, another native of Atlanta, then went in for the kill, making the most of his opponent’s errors to win 7-6(2) 6-3 and set up a meeting with 2019 Gonet Geneva Open champion, Alexander Zverev.
by Patrick FAVRE | 21 May, 2023 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Despite the support of a sizeable crowd, Jerome Kym (ATP 401) was unable to upset the odds and went down 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-4 to Arthur Cazaux (ATP 197). The Swiss player could at least take consolation from playing a full part in the first thriller of the 2023 Gonet Geneva Open, an engrossing match that lasted two hours and 55 minutes.
Kym will be kicking himself, however, having led 0-30 on the Frenchman’s serve at 4-4 in the third set. The all-important break point proved elusive, however, and at 4-5, Cazaux made the most of the home player’s double fault at deuce before hitting a backhand pass down the line to secure victory, the ball clipping the net and then dropping in.
The first round of the qualifying competition provided a fitting start to the tournament. Cazaux will return to the Central at 11:00 on Sunday to fight it out for a place in the main draw with Croatia’s Nino Serdarudic (ATP 305). The first round proper gets under way at 14:00, with Ben Shelton taking on Marco Cecchinato and Benoît Paire facing Christopher Eubanks.
As for the 20-year-old Kym, he has taken an important step forward as he looks to kickstart a career stalled by months of injury problems. Blessed with a fast forehand, he has the means to start climbing the Tour rankings fast and catch up with his compatriots and peers Dominic Stricker and Leandro Riedi.
by Patrick FAVRE | 19 May, 2023 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
If the seedings at the Gonet Geneva Open are to be believed, then Casper Ruud will take on Alexander Zverev in one semi-final and Grigor Dimitrov will do battle with Taylor Fritz in the other, a line-up that is sure to pull the crowds in.
As we all know, however, tennis tournaments are anything but predictable, and it’s hard to see how the Gonet Geneva Open will not throw up its fair share of surprises.
Held on the shores of Lake Geneva in the presence of the city’s mayor, Marie Barbey-Chappuis, Friday’s draw produced several enticing first-round encounters that look too close to call. Take the duel between Zurich’s Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 82) and China’s Yibing Wu (ATP 57) or the clash between Chile’s Nicolas Jarry (ATP 56), a runner-up here in 2019, and Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic (ATP 46), a recent winner in Banja Luka. And then there’s the prospective second-round match-ups between Benoît Paire (ATP 160) and Alexander Zverev, and Alexander Bublik (ATP 49) and Taylor Fritz.
With the draw now done, it’s time for the action to begin. Qualifying kicks off on Saturday at 11:00, while the opening matches of the main draw take place on Sunday.
