- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Novak Djokovic Earns 5th Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Rafael Nadal Commits to 2024 Laver Cup
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Monday, April 22, 2024
- Casper Ruud Tops Stefanos Tsitsipas for Barcelona Title
- Former World No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza Retires
- Fritz Flies Into First Clay-Court Final in Munich
- Munich Open Schedule and Draws for Sunday, April 21, 2024
- Home For Sale Minutes From The Indian Wells Tennis Gardens
- Ricky’s pick for the Barcelona final: Ruud vs. Tsitsipas
- Barcelona Open Schedule and Draws for Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Munich Open Schedule and Draws for Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Swiatek Defeats Raducanu to Set Up Stuttgart Semifinal vs. Rybakina
Ricky’s Picks And Previews for This Week’s ATP Tennis From Lyon & Geneva • Oh, And Federer Returns
- Updated: May 17, 2021
By Ricky Dimon
This was supposed to be the week immediately preceding Roland Garros, but the season’s second Grand Slam was postponed by seven days as a result of the ongoing coronavirus issues in Paris. That is actually great news for this week’s 250 tournaments in Lyon and Geneva, because players can participate and still get a full week off prior to the French Open. The result is a pair of stellar fields, headlined by Roger Federer’s return in Geneva. Federer is joined in a 28-man field by Denis Shapovalov, Casper Ruud, and Grigor Dimitrov. In Lyon, title contenders include Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon
Where: Lyon, France
Prize money: 419,470 Euros
Top seed: Dominic Thiem
2019 champion: Benoit Paire (not playing)
This
should be a fun one from start to finish, because an incredibly deep field for
a 250-point event means the unseeded contingent is formidable. Both Aslan
Karatsev and Lorenzo Musetti are unseeded, and they have respective first-round
showdowns on their hands against Sinner and Auger-Aliassime. Another dangerous
floater is an in-form Cameron Norrie, who will go up against Thiem in the
second round. Thiem could have to face either Sinner or Karatsev in the quarterfinals,
as well, so it is not an easy draw for the top seed.
Tsitsipas has a more favorable path at the bottom of the bracket. The Greek
awaits either Tommy Paul or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last 16 and his nearest
seed is a struggling Gael Monfils. Auger-Aliassime and David Goffin are
potential semifinal foes for Tsitsipas, but neither one of those challengers is
playing great at the moment.
Semifinal picks: Jannik Sinner over Diego Schwartzman and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Felix Auger-Aliassime
Final: Tsitsipas over Sinner
Gonet Geneva Open
Where: Geneva,
Switzerland
Prize money: 419,470 Euros
Top seed: Roger Federer
2019 champion: Alexander Zverev (not playing)
Federer
made a brief comeback two months ago in Doha but has not played since. It was a
mixed bag for the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the Middle East, where he
battled past Dan Evans but then lost to eventual champion Nikoloz Basilashvili
from match point up. Federer will begin his second tournament of the season
against Pablo Andujar, who is no stranger to clay but should not be a serious
threat if the top seed is anywhere close to 100 percent. Things could get
tougher in the quarters against either Marin Cilic or Marton Fucsovics, but
Cristian Garin’s withdrawal could end up being a big boost for Federer.
In the bottom half of the bracket, Shapovalov has to be considered the favorite
based on his performance against eventual champion Rafael Nadal in Rome (lost
from two match points up). Dimitrov and Fabio Fognini are obviously talented
enough to hang with the Canadian, but they have no semblance of consistency at
the moment. Shapovalov’s QF and SF opponents could end up being Thiago Monteiro
(or Laslo Djere) and Reilly Opelka, respectively. Opelka is coming off an
improbable run to the Rome semis.
Semifinal picks: Casper Ruud over Roger Federer and Denis Shapovalov over Grigor Dimitrov
Final: Shapovalov over Ruud
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
Editors Note • Sorry, we are Roger Federer Fans for life. Roger to win in Switzerland.