Taylor Fritz will begin his European clay-court swing and take the court for the first time since the Miami Open in Match when he headlines the Geneva Open as the No. 1 seed. Fritz has struggled with knee tendinitis since the beginning of the season, so it was no surprise to see him skip Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo, Madrid, and Rome.
The seventh-ranked American leads a strong Geneva field that also includes Alexander Bublik, Learner Tien, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Switzerland’s own Stan Wawrinka. Ruud currently finds himself in the Rome final, so there is a good chance that he will end up withdrawing from Geneva.
“I am super excited to be going back to Geneva,” Fritz stated. “I have been out for a while, so I am super excited to come back and I hope to see you all out there.”
Even though the French Open is just one week away, it will be a busy upcoming week on the tennis calendar in advance of the year’s second Grand Slam. In addition to the 250-point tournament in Geneva, an ATP 500 in Hamburg will also be in progress.
If healthy and with players like Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, and Holger Rune sidelined by injuries, Fritz will be among the top choices at Roland Garros — albeit far behind overwhelming favorite Jannik Sinner, of course. The 28-year-old is currently listed at 100-to-1 odds to lift the French Open trophy according to GamblingNerd.com, but that could change drastically if he looks fit and fares well in Geneva.
Meanwhile, the Hamburg field features Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, and Joao Fonseca. Auger-Aliassime and Shelton are the top two seeds, and they will be among the top eight seeds at Roland Garros late this month.
German favorite Alexander Zverev will not be among those in Hamburg. Zverev cited a back injury for his withdrawal, but it is probably just a precautionary decision since he has played so much tennis in recent weeks and wants to be rested for the French Open.
“I’m really disappointed that I have to withdraw,” the world No. 3 lamented. “Hamburg is my hometown, and it is always something very special for me to play in front of my home crowd. Unfortunately, I have been dealing with back problems throughout the entire clay-court season. My medical team has therefore strongly advised me to take a break from competition next week and focus on recovery.”