Marin Cilic will kick off his Geneva campaign on Tuesday against up-and-coming teenager Andrey Rublev. Denis Istomin and Janko Tipsarevic are also part of a jam-packed schedule.
(WC) Andrey Rublev vs. (2) Marin Cilic
It has been mostly slow-going for Cilic ever since he captured his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 U.S. Open. A shoulder injury has put a dent in Cilic’s progress and his record this season stands at a mere 3-5 heading into the inaugural Geneva Open. The 10th-ranked Croat advanced two rounds in Monte-Carlo but he is 1-4 in his last five matches with opening losses in both Barcelona and Rome.
Up first for Cilic is Rublev, for whom it has already been a productive week. The 17-year-old Russian held off Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) on Monday for his sixth ATP-level match victory of 2015 and the seventh of his career. Rublev, who is up to No. 229 in the world, has not yet earned back-to-back victories in the main draw of an ATP event. As well as the youngster is playing, none of his wins have come over an opponent ranked better than 37th in the world.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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(WC) Janko Tipsarevic vs. Denis Istomin
Istomin and Tipsarevic will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers at the ATP level when they do battle in first-round action on Tuesday. Tipsarevic leads the head-to-head series 2-1 and all three of their previous encounters have come on hard courts. They most recently faced each other two years ago at the Montreal Masters, where Istomin prevailed 6-4, 6-3. The two veterans have clashed once on clay, but that meeting came at the Challenger level back in 2006 (Tipsarevic cruised 6-2, 6-1).
The Serb is finally back in action for the first time since the fall of 2013 and his comeback from a foot problem has gone about as well as can be expected. Tipsarevic is 3-3 on the year with consecutive second-round performances in Houston, Bucharest, and Munich. He advanced one round in Madrid qualifying before succumbing to Thanasi Kokkinakis in a third-set tiebreaker. Istomin is just 5-11 this season and his only non-retirement victory over anyone better than No. 73 world has come at the expense of an ice-cold Ernests Gulbis. The Uzbek’s slump is likely to continue, but he will at least make Tipsarevic work.
Pick: Tipsarevic in 3
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