ATP Geneva Open: Preview and Draw Analysis

The 2021 ATP Geneva Open will be the center of attention this week as former world #1 Roger Federer is set to make his second return of the year on home soil. Federer will be joined in a 28-man field by, amongst others, the in-form Norwegian Casper Ruud, Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov who make up the top four seeds. Here is a look at how the draw might play out in Switzerland.

2021 ATP Geneva Open Draw

Roger Federer leads the @genevaopen field…

Full draw ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jNW6wrD8iw

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 14, 2021

Top half: Federer handed tough draw in his quest to win 106th career title

Since his announcement that he will play the clay-court season, the majority of tennis fans had been split on whether Federer would even contemplate playing on the dirt this year.

Barring any last-minute change of plans, Federer’s fanciful comeback on clay is now a reality. The Swiss will play in his first match since losing in the quarterfinals of Qatar Open on Tuesday evening. He will face either Jordan Thompson of Australia or the Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar. Assuming Federer squeezes his way into the quarterfinal, his first acid test could be the Chilean clay-court specialist Cristian Garin.

However, Garin could have his hands full against Marton Fucsovics in the first round. The Hungarian has been in impressive form this year and pushed Dominic Thiem to three sets in Rome last week.

Moving down in the top section, Casper Ruud is the other name to watch out for. The Norwegian youngster is Federer’s projected semifinal opponent and is the number three seed. He has a bye in the first round and is widely expected to thrust his name in the last four with minimum fuss. It is worth noting that Ruud took a week off after Madrid to recharge his batteries and will be looking to reach his fourth consecutive semifinal on clay.

Projected semifinal: (1) Roger Federer vs (3) Casper Ruud

Bottom half: Shapovalov and Dimitrov on a collision course, but Fognini is lurking

The bottom half of the draw could feature some intriguing matchups in prospect and this could be a golden opportunity for unheralded players to impress. One of them is Fabio Fognini who has a tricky opening match against Guido Pella.

The Italian has had a tumultuous time on the court in recent weeks. After his unsuccessful title defense in Monte Carlo, Fognini was disqualified mid-match in Barcelona for verbal abuse on a lines judge. He hasn’t quite got his bearings right after that moment and has a losing record on clay against Guido Pella. However, the Argentine lefthander has retired in the middle of his matches in each of his last two tournaments due to injury.

Seven of Fognini’s nine career titles have been won at 250-level including one on Swiss soil in Gstaad. The unpredictable Italian could meet Denis Shapovalov in a mouth-watering quarterfinal. The young Canadian leads 2-0 on head-to-head but has not met Fognini on clay.

Shapovalov came very close to record a memorable victory over Nadal in Rome but was unable to shut the gates on more than one occasion. The second seed could first have to navigate his way past another Italian in Stefano Travaglia in the second round.

Grigor Dimitrov, the fourth seed, is one of three wildcards in the main draw. The Bulgarian has made an inauspicious start to his clay-court campaign but should be able to make his way into the last eight unharmed. Dimitrov could meet Reilly Opelka, the semifinalist in Rome, in the last four here. However, it is highly likely the big-serving American might withdraw from Geneva due to his Rome commitment.

Projected semifinal: (4) Grigor Dimitrov vs Fabio Fognini