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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 05: Roger Federer during the arrival press conference in Cape Town ahead of The Match in Africa against Rafael Nadal at Cape Town International Airport on February 05, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
via Getty
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 05: Roger Federer during the arrival press conference in Cape Town ahead of The Match in Africa against Rafael Nadal at Cape Town International Airport on February 05, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
20-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, Roger Federer, who is preparing for a comeback on the ATP tour, has agreed to participate in a 250-series tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. The tournament, after its revival in 2015, has attracted several stars like Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, among others.
It’s a privilege indeed for the organizers at the Geneva Open as the Swiss star plans his resumption with this tournament.
Geneva Open director is elated after Roger Federer’s entry
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Thierry Grin, the tournament director expressed his delight with the development saying, “It’s just exceptional; it’s our best dream come true. Sport has suffered so much. But, to relaunch with the return of Roger Federer in Switzerland, I find that this is a superb reward to all those who fought to keep the sport alive during the pandemic.”
via Reuters
Tennis – ATP 250 – Qatar Open – The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar – March 10, 2021, Switzerland’s Roger Federer in action during his first round match against Great Britain’s Dan Evans Tennis Federation/Samer Al-Rejjal/Handout via REUTERS
Federer took to Twitter to announce the news; his participation at Geneva means he might skip Madrid open and directly play the French Open. It was a surprising development from the Swiss, but the Geneva Open might give fans a rough estimate of his performance at Roland Garros.
His comeback at the Qatar Open a month ago was cut short in the quarter-finals by Nikoloz Basilashvili, who went on to win the tournament.
Hi everyone!
Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva🇨🇭 and Paris 🇫🇷. Until then I will use the time to train. Can’t wait to play in Switzerland again. ❤️🚀— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 18, 2021
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Roland Garros’ rescheduling proves to be a boon for Geneva Open
Coming back to the Geneva Open, the postponement of Roland Garros by a week helped the tournament to book the slot from May 15-22. An elated Thierry Grin said, “The stars have aligned this year. It is a gift from heaven. With the situation of the calendar and its reprogramming, our tournament feels better and better in its desire to ramp up towards its big goals.”
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In addition to the home advantage, Federer will also have the opportunity to test his fitness against a strong battlefield with the likes of Denis Shapovalov, Fabio Fognini, and Benoit Paire confirmed to play the Geneva Open. Also, Federer’s association with his countryman Marc Rosset also helped the tournament seal the deal with the Swiss maestro this year.
The decision to play a home event before Roland Garros makes sense for the Swiss maestro; if he manages to clinch the title at Geneva, it will be his twelfth title on home soil.
