The 2024 ATP Gonet Geneva Open kicks off on Sunday with two singles main draw matches. Fifth seed Sebastian Baez has already captured two titles on clay this year and has been one of the players of the season on that surface. He takes on Sumit Nagal in the opening round, who do you think will advance?
ATP Geneva Day 1 Predictions
Aleksandar Kovacevic vs Abdullah Shelbayh
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is a final qualifying round match. Aleksandar Kovacevic is hardly setting the world on fire on clay this year, but it’s still an improvement over his last dirt season when he went 0-6. He has mixed up a few opening losses with qualifying for Madrid, which should help him get ready for the altitude conditions in Geneva. Clay can also help him overwhelm his opposition physically and grind it out, something that’s a bit of an underrated tool in his arsenal. Against an inconsistent youngster like Abdullah Shelbayh, maybe he serve his way to the win given the conditions.
Prediction: Kovacevic in 3
Daniel Altmaier vs Roberto Carballes Baena
Head-to-head: First meeting
Daniel Altmaier impressed in his Madrid run recently, but the next two losses to Shintaro Mochizuki and Luca Nardi kinda killed all the excitement. The German is 8-13 on the year in Tour-level events and hasn’t been holding up that well. The conditions in Geneva might give him a chance against Roberto Carballes Baena though with the firepower edge proving vital. Not like the Spaniard is in amazing form either with a loss to Juncheng Shang in Bordeaux last week.
Prediction: Altmaier in 3
Sebastian Baez vs Sumit Nagal
Head-to-head: First meeting
Sumit Nagal broke the Top 100 this year, but it remains to be seen if he’ll turn it into winning main tour matches on a regular basis. This would be a place to start as he’s never beaten a Top 20 opponent. Sebastian Baez has turned out a lot more vulnerable in Europe than during the South American part of the clay season, but the 23-year-old finally got something going in Rome last week. He still leads the tour in clay wins in 2024 and he should grab another one here.
Prediction: Baez in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
