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
Surface: Clay
Points: 250
Prize money: 419,470 Euros
Top seed: Dominic Thiem
2019 champion: Benoit Paire (not playing)
Draw analysis: 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.
Hot: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, Aslan Karatsev, Cameron Norrie, Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Cold: Diego Schwartzman, David Goffin, Gael Monfils, Karen Khachanov, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Semifinal predictions: Jannik Sinner over Diego Schwartzman and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Felix Auger-Aliassime
Final: Tsitsipas over Sinner
Gonet Geneva Open
Where: Geneva, Switzerland
Surface: Clay
Points: 250
Prize money: 419,470 Euros
Top seed: Roger Federer
2019 champion: Alexander Zverev (not playing)
Draw analysis: 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 withdraw 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.
Hot: Casper Ruud, Reilly Opelka
Cold: Roger Federer, Grigor Dimitrov, Benoit Paire, Adrian Mannarino, Tennys Sandgren, Guido Pella
Semifinal predictions: Casper Ruud over Roger Federer and Denis Shapovalov over Grigor Dimitrov
Final: Shapovalov over Ruud
who ya got?
Ruud over Shapo
Happy to hear it. Me too, Ruud over Shapo in Geneva
Tsitsi over Sinner
Tsitsi over Thiem
Federer could beat this lot with a walking stick. He should go close to winning it.
If I was Tsitsipas I wouldve taken this week off and carb-loaded. Silly man (or team rather) doesnt understand the value of being well rested.
The fact that he’s playing is a concession that he doesnt believe he’s ready for RG (after all the clay tennis he’s played.)
He struggles to hold weight too. Crazy given his body type.
People underestimate how comfortable Fed actually is on clay.
Yeah, but sad to say, he’s getting old .
Bah, I’d take Jolly Old Roger against this lot any time and twice on Sunday. (Well, maybe not twice! I’ll leave the two-a-days to that young pup Djoker. :-))
This FAA v Musetti match is easy on the eyes. 😊 First time I have seen Musetti.
Oh, man 😯 What a surprise! Musetti wins the match. FAA was my pick in that match.
Federer wow
based on that performance, Roger is going to have a short stay in Paris.
I actually think that was a decent performance from both players. He will still play in the 4th round Paris. Quite sure about that.
but Roger was a break up in the decider, with his massive experience he couldn’t get it done?
Experience is not conditioning! Roger needs matches, needs to get match-tough. If he gets a halfway decent draw at RG he should get some there. It’s not like he’s expecting to win the thing.
Agree, he’s lacking match toughness which is an absolute necessity to pull out victories on the ATP. The younger players know it and will be looking to exploit it.