by Patrick FAVRE | 22 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
The Gonet Geneva Open has not been a happy hunting ground lately for world No. 15 Ben Shelton, who went out to an Italian player in his opening match for the second year running. Flavio Cobolli did what Marco Cecchinato had done to the American in 2023, wresting the initiative as his opponent lost his way.
Shelton was seemingly in control at a set and 4-2 up only for the man from Florence to turn the tables and triumph in three sets. A Roland-Garros junior doubles champion in 2020 with Dominic Stricker, Cobolli will now take on Alexander Shevchenko (ATP 61) in the quarter-finals on Thursday, the Kazakh player having earned a second-round walkover when his opponent, Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland, withdrew because of illness.
A runner-up in Geneva in 2021 to Casper Ruud, Denis Shapovalov (ATP 123) reacquainted himself with victory at the Parc des Eaux-Vives. The recipient of a wild card, the Canadian left-hander won 12 of the last 13 games against Argentina’s Federico Coria (ATP 69) to come back from 4-1 down in the opening set and secure a comfortable 7-5 6-0 win.
Situated in the same quarter of the draw as Novak Djokovic, could the former world No. 10 kick on and cause an upset at the Gonet Geneva Open? We should go some way to finding an answer to that question on Wednesday, when Shapovalov takes on Tallon Griekspoor (ATP 27) in the round of 16. The Dutchman delivered the goods against the USA’s Chris Eubanks (ATP 43) on Tuesday, winning 6-4 1-6 6-3, and is sure to pose a stern test for the Canadian.
Wednesday’s headline match is the meeting between Novak Djokovic and Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 85). The German, who was in no mood to give Andy Murray a way back into their first-round tie, is a tough proposition on clay, as the world No. 1 knows only too well and acknowledged in his press conference today. He has only one thing on his mind in Geneva, though, and that is winning.
by Patrick FAVRE | 21 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en, Uncategorized
Every day, you’ll find summaries of the previous day’s matches and all the news and information you need to know about the Gonet Geneva Open! Interviews with the players, portraits of the key players in the tournament organization, the day’s match schedules, everything you need to know… Don’t hesitate to help yourself when you arrive at the heart of TC Genève, or find out more below! Enjoy your reading.
by Patrick FAVRE | 20 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en, Uncategorized
Andy Murray’s (ATP 75) hopes of taking on Novak Djokovic in the next round are hanging by a thread after he endured a torrid Monday afternoon at the hands of Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 85). The Scot was trailing 7-5 4-1 when torrential rain handed him a reprieve until 1pm on Tuesday, though he will have to break back twice to have any chance of taking the match into a deciding set. The chances of Murray doing that look slim, however, given that he won only 12 points on his serve in eight games against the German, an out-and-out clay-court specialist.
Murray’s big brother Jamie and his New Zealand playing partner Michael Venus made a nervy start to their Gonet Geneva Open men’s double title defence, prevailing 6-3 3-6 10-8 against Romain Arneodo and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn.
The tournament lost its first seeded player earlier in the day, when rising Hungarian star Fabian Marozsan went down 4-6 6-7 (4) to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko in the opening match on the Court Central.
Finally, wild card recipients Luca Margaroli and Damien Wenger, the last two Swiss players left in the tournament, put up a brave fight in the second set against the experienced Lloyd Glasspool and Jean-Julian Rojer (a winner here in 2017 with his former team-mate Horia Tecau) before losing 1-6 6-7 (6).
by Patrick FAVRE | 19 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
Sebastian Baez (ATP 19) and David Goffin (114) lit up Whitsun in front of another sell-out crowd to go with Saturday’s, further proof that the 2024 Gonet Geneva Open is the place to be this week.
An ATP 500 winner in Rio and ATP 250 champion in Santiago already this year, Sebastian Baez (in the photo) showed on his first outing at the Parc des Eaux-Vives why he is Argentina’s No. 1. Taking on India’s Sumit Nagal (93 in the ATP Tour Ranking) in the round of 32, he overcame a sticky start to the match to win 7-6 (9-7) 6-3. With a quarter-final against Casper Ruud potentially in the offing, Baez will now face Roberto Carballes Baena (62) in the last 16. The Spaniard beat Daniel Altmaier (78) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in the day’s second match in the main round.
David Goffin did not hang around in his qualifier on Court 2, the Belgian taking only 51 minutes to make sure of his place in the main draw with a comprehensive 6-1 6-0 win over Gijs Brouwer of the Netherlands (241). Having arrived from Turin on Friday night, the 33-year-old Goffin is not about to call time on his wonderful career just yet. Now recovered from a neck injury, the 2017 ATP World Tour Finals runner-up is intent on having a good year. And there seems no reason why he cannot make a positive start to it at the Gonet Geneva Open, where his first-round opponent will be another qualifier in Nicolas Moreno De Alboran of the USA (136).
by Patrick FAVRE | 18 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en, Uncategorized
As feared, luck was not on Switzerland’s side in the first round of the Qualifying tournament on Saturday. Antoine Bellier (ATP No.345), Damien Wenger (No.381) and Jakub Paul (No.516) all tasted the bitterness of defeat. As a consequence, for the first time in the tournament’s history, there will be no Swiss players in the main draw of the Gonet Geneva Open.
Though Bellier and Wenger – who were defeated 6-3 6-4 by the Netherlands’ Gijs Brouwer (No.241) and 6-2 6-4 by Jordan’s Abdullah Shelbayh (No.244), respectively – suffered convincing losses, Paul briefly had victory within reach. The player from Grisons took Argentina’s Juan Pablo Ficovich (No.232) to three sets. At 5-3 in the decider, Paul did not take advantage of the break point to get back into the match.
The man to watch in the Qualifying tournament, former World No.7 David Goffin (No.114) managed to live up to his status. In the sold-out venue, the Belgian defeated Italy’s Gianluca Mager 6-3 6-1 to round off the day in style. Tickets are also sold-out for Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
Another high point of the day was the press conference held by Andy Murray. The former World No.1 complimented the venue and added that he was excited at the prospect of playing Novak Djokovic on Wednesday. “We haven’t played each other in a while,” he said, smiling. The last time was back in January 2017, when Djokovic defeated Murray in the final in Doha.
by adminsc | 17 May, 2024 | News_slider-en, News_Tournoi-en
A Djokovic – Murray clash in the Round of 16?
Could the Gonet Geneva Open be the setting for the last match ever to be played between two members of the Big Four? Following the draw, which was made on Friday in the Lyrique restaurant, Andy Murray might well be Novak Djokovic’s first opponent if he defeats Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann (ATP No.32).
Benefitting from a bye in the first round, Novak Djokovic could come up against two other big-hitters on his way to the final, in the shape of Denis Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz. Casper Ruud and Ben Shelton will be the men to beat in the other half of the draw. A possible clash between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray lent even more weight to the words spoken by the City of Geneva’s administrative councillor, Marie Barbey-Chappuis, when she said, “The Gonet Geneva Open is the pride of Geneva.”
Three years after Roger Federer’s appearance, the presence of both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray makes the Gonet Geneva Open shine even brighter. The event has undoubtedly become the most prestigious ATP 250 tournament in the calendar, having attracted eleven of the world’s top 50 players.
