Stan Wawrinka will be back in front of the home crowd on Wednesday in Geneva, where he faces Alex Michelsen in the second round. Learner Tien and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also bidding for a quarterfinal spot.
(WC) Stan Wawrinka vs. Alex Michelsen
Wawrinka is making his final appearance at the Geneva Open, where he advanced on Monday with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory over lucky loser Raul Brancaccio. The 41-year-old Swiss, who is retiring at the end of this season (presumably in Basel), is 11-3 lifetime in Geneva with two titles (2016, 2017). A fairytale third one is likely too much to ask for Wawrinka at this point in his career, as he is just 7-10 on the main tour in 2026 and down at No. 119 in the world.
Up next for the three-time Grand Slam champion on Wednesday is first-ever showdown against Michelsen. The 21-year-old American is by no means a clay-court player, but he did well to defeat Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round. That result alone cements Michelsen as a clear favorite in this matchup. The home crowd and the surface should keep Wawrinka competitive, but it’s likely the end of the road this week for the veteran Swiss.
Pick: Michelsen in 3
(WC) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (4) Learner Tien
Tien and Tsitsipas will also be going head-to-head for the first time on Wednesday. Whereas Tien earned a bye as the No. 4 seed, Tsitsipas required a wild card simply to get into the main draw. The 82nd-ranked Greek took advantage of the opportunity by beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 7-6(8) on Monday. Still, Tstisipas is just 4-4 so far on the clay-court swing.
Compared to his opponent, Tien is a complete rookie on dirt. The 20-year-old American is a mere 9-14 lifetime on this surface, but a fourth-round appearance in Rome — where he lost to Rafael Jodar — was very encouraging. Regardless of the surface, Tien is simply a far superior all-court player than Tsitsipas these days. To say that the 27-year-old’s consistency — or lack thereof — will be tested by Tien would be a gross understatement.
Pick: Tien in 2
WWW?
Agree Tien is better but this week I’m expecting strange results so Tsitsi in three.
Michelsrn in 2
If Michelson can beat Baez in Rome, as he did last week, he can Stanaimal….and Tien in 3
What, Ofner took out Michelsen in Rome R1 last week.
Hahahahahahah Tien in 2? It has always been clear you don’t like Tsitsipas but this is ridiculous.
Tien defeats Tsitsipas in 2. Congratulations to me.
76 76 and Tsitsi handed him the first , double break up tiebereak
Michelsen got a nice win in R1, but he can’t be expected to back it up, Stan’s got the home advantage here, Wawrinka in 3, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Excuse me, but Tien-Tsitsipas is a total mismatch on clay, Tsitsipas in 2, 6-4, 6-3.
Stan has retired from tennis, a sad day for the sport 😞
nope, just his final appearance in Geneva
On the court at least.He probably has a house there
Lol okay Ricky didn’t realise
Only guessing . Nice view of lake Geneva
Congrats to Tien, his leftiness was the deciding factor.
Congrats to Michelsen too.
Tien played pretty well , Tsitsi didn’t play bad apart from blowing his chance first set tiebrak. Was a double mini break up