Could this be the week that Taylor Fritz breaks his clay-court trophy duck on the ATP Tour?

The 25-year-old sent out a statement to the rest of the field Thursday at the Gonet Geneva Open, where he raced past Ilya Ivashka 6-1, 6-2 with a blistering quarter-final performance at the clay-court ATP 250.

Fritz battled through a three-set test against Marcos Giron in his opening match in Geneva but had no such trouble brushing past the World No. 86 Ivashka in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting. Striking powerfully and with depth off both wings throughout, the second seed broke his opponent’s serve twice in each set and did not face a break point on his own delivery in the 51-minute encounter.

Fritz flies forwards 👉

He takes the win 6-1, 6-2 against Ivashka 🔥
@genevaopen | #atpgva pic.twitter.com/MVkZC5UgTI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 25, 2023

With his 29th tour-level victory of the season, Fritz advanced to his third tour-level clay-court semi-final of 2023. Having fallen in the final four in Monte-Carlo and Munich, the American will hope to maintain his level in Geneva as he chases his maiden ATP Tour championship match appearance on clay.

Standing in his way of that goal will be Grigor Dimitrov or Christopher O’Connell, who meet in the second quarter-final of the day on Thursday.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have landed in the same half of the Roland Garros draw.

The Spaniard, who has captured three trophies on clay this season, could meet third seed Djokovic in the semi-finals, with 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas drawn in the 20-year-old’s quarter.

Alcaraz is making his third appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam, having advanced to the quarter-finals in 2022. The top seed will open against a qualifier and is seeded to play 14th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round. Fifth seed Tsitsipas, who is in the same section as Felix Auger-Aliassime, is a potential quarter-final opponent for Alcaraz.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Italian Lorenzo Musetti are also in a stacked top quarter of the draw. Shapovalov is a potential third-round opponent for Alcaraz, while Musetti, who pushed Djokovic to five sets in Paris in 2021, is in the same section as Norrie.

Two-time champion Djokovic, who is aiming to win a record 23rd Grand Slam title in Paris, will start against American Aleksandar Kovacevic. The Serbian is in the same section as Hubert Hurkacz, with seventh seed Andrey Rublev a possible quarter-final opponent. Rublev captured the Monte-Carlo title last month and faces Laslo Djere in the first round.

#NextGenATP American Ben Shelton is in the same section as Rublev. The 20-year-old Shelton, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, had never competed on red clay before this year. Shelton will face a tough opening test against Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev anchors the bottom half of the draw. The 27-year-old rose to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after winning his first clay-court title last week in Rome. Medvedev’s victory in Italy ensured he would be seeded second in Paris, making it possible for Alcaraz and Djokovic to be drawn in the same half.

Medvedev will face a qualifier in the first round and could play Jannik Sinner or two-time semi-finalist Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. The eighth-seeded Italian Sinner opens against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, while Zverev plays South African Lloyd Harris. Sinner, currently 28-7 on the season, has reached three tour-level finals this year, including his second ATP Masters 1000 title match in Miami.

Last year’s finalist Casper Ruud, who has won nine of his 10 tour-level titles on clay, is seeded to meet Medvedev in the semi-finals. The Norwegian begins against a qualifier and is in the same quarter as Holger Rune, who Ruud beat in the quarter-finals last season. Rune, who defeated Ruud en route to the Rome final, might face ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the fourth round. Tommy Paul is also in that section. The American, currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, advanced to the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January.

A number of interesting first-round matches were drawn, with Madrid finalist Jan-Lennard Struff meeting the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Jiri Lehecka and Auger-Aliassime facing Italian Fabio Fognini. Former champion Stan Wawrinka starts against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, with their previous meeting coming in Paris in 2016.

The Swiss clay continues to be a happy hunting ground for Casper Ruud.

The World No. 4 kicked off his Gonet Geneva Open campaign in style on Wednesday with a 6-3, 7-5 second-round triumph against J.J. Wolf. An early break in the first set and a late break in the second were enough to set the 2021 and 2022 champion on the way to an 81-minute victory.

“I feel great. It’s a great win for me,” said Ruud in his on-court interview. “J.J. is a very aggressive, tough player to play against, a very tough opponent. I started the match great, got a break early, and also won in the end luckily… Happy to be here again tomorrow. It’s great to be back in Geneva and always great to play in front of the fans here again.”

With his win, Ruud improved to 9-0 in Geneva, and 17-0 in Swiss ATP Tour clay events. The Norwegian triumphed in Gstaad as well as Geneva in 2021 and 2022.

“The club is beautiful, the fans are great,” said Ruud, when asked about why he so often showcases his best tennis in Geneva. “Switzerland is a country with a lot of tennis history now, with Roger, and Stan still playing. So it’s an incredible country to be in, I really like it. Good food, good people, a lot of beautiful views so there’s a lot of things to like about Geneva and it’s always a great feeling being here.”

Ruud will take on Nicolas Jarry next as he bids for his second tour-level title of the season (Estoril). Jarry advanced to the quarter-finals after his opponent Tallon Griekspoor was forced to withdraw due to a right ankle injury.

Earlier on Wednesday, Taylor Fritz shook off a tricky start with a powerful finish en route to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win against Marcos Giron in his opening match at the clay-court ATP 250.

Fritz prevailed in a hard-fought contest by delivering a dominant serving performance in the deciding set against his No. 74-ranked countryman. The second seed dropped just two points behind his delivery in the third set to claim victory in a match during which he also converted five of the 13 break points he earned.

Debut & Comeback 🔥

From a set down No.2️⃣ seed @Taylor_Fritz97 continues into the last 8 defeating Giron 4-6 6-2 6-3!@genevaopen | #atpgva pic.twitter.com/CZMaFJaIxT

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 24, 2023

The 25-year-old Fritz is now 8-1 against fellow Americans for the 2023 season. The Delray Beach champion is chasing his maiden ATP Tour title on clay on event debut this week in Geneva, where he will meet Ilya Ivashka in the quarter.finals.

Ivashka earlier came through a three-set battle of his own. The 29-year-old downed eighth seed Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.

Grigor Dimitrov enjoyed a more straightforward path to the last eight. The fourth seed brushed past Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4 to reach his first tour-level quarter-final on clay this year. Dimitrov, who also reached the quarter-finals in Geneva in 2021, next plays Christopher O’Connell. The Australian led Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0, 3-0 when the Spaniard retired from the pair’s second-round clash.

“Honestly, it was a good day,” said Dimitrov. “I think I had a very good start to the match, especially the first four games. I was really on point, reading the game well, serving well, which helped a lot. I think today was also very tough conditions, all in all. It was windy, kind of swirly, a little bit cold… I felt all I had to do was be very composed, look after the points and simply follow [my] game plan.”

Shang Juncheng made history earlier this season when he was one of three Chinese men who competed in the main draw of the Australian Open. Now the 18-year-old is attempting to qualify for the Roland Garros main draw in hopes of once again joining his countrymen Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen.

World No. 200 Shang is one win away from the main draw in Paris after defeating Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of qualifying. The lefty saved all six break points he faced Wednesday to down the Hungarian, who upset Carlos Alcaraz last week in Rome at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Shang was not the only teenager who advanced Wednesday. The 19-year-old Serbian Hamad Medjedovic ousted fourth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Medjedovic has claimed two ATP Challenger Tour titles this season and is ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race. Shang, who reached the second round at Melbourne Park after coming through qualifying, is thirty-fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

Second seed Yannick Hanfmann maintained his strong clay-court form, overcoming Zdenek Kolar 6-2, 6-4. The German, who is at a career-high No. 64 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, won 69 per cent of his second-serve points compared to Kolar’s 43 per cent. The 31-year-old will next meet Elias Ymer, who ousted Marc Polmans 7-5, 6-3.

Hanfmann is aiming to play in the Roland Garros main draw for the first time since 2019. That year, the German advanced through qualifying before losing to Rafael Nadal in the opening round.

In other qualifying action, home favourite and former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille rallied to beat Chun-Hsin Tseng 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo survived third seed Borna Gojo 7-6(2), 7-6(4).

Top seed Aslan Karatsev, who reached the semi-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open, moved past Nick Hardt 7-5, 6-3.

The ATP 500 event in Halle, Germany will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year and 20-time major champion Roger Federer will be in attendance as guest of honour.
The Terra Wortmann Open announced that Wednesday, 21 June, will be ‘Roger Federer Day’, a celebration for the 10-time Halle champion who retired last year.

“I’m looking forward to returning to one of my absolute favourite tournaments on the
ATP Tour,” Federer said in a press release. “It’s an honour to come and help the tournament celebrate this important anniversary in Halle.”

The grass-court event, which runs from 19-25 June, will honour the Swiss on Centre Court, raise support for the Roger Federer Foundation, and host various activities on ‘Roger Federer Day’.

“The rise of our tournament to world-class level is closely associated with Roger,” said tournament director Ralf Weber. “He has acted as an outstanding ambassador for us over all this time and produced headlines around the globe.”

Federer first collected the Halle title in 2003 and triumphed again the following three years. The 103-time tour-level titlist boasted a 69-8 career record at the Terra Wortmann Open and last won in Halle in 2019.

Cameron Norrie celebrating victory at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon has become a familiar scene in recent years.

On Wednesday, the World No. 14 sealed his record-extending 12th match win at the clay-court ATP 250 by defeating David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals. The 2021 finalist and 2022 champion saved five of six break points he faced en route to an 89-minute triumph, his 50th tour-level clay victory.

“It’s such a special tournament for me, winning my first clay 250 this time last year, and I really like this tournament, “said Norrie in his on-court interview. “It’s pretty unique, in a cycling velodrome in the middle of a park, and it’s always the start of summer for me. I feel really good here… It’s good to be back and good to get a straight-sets win today.”

With his win, Norrie improved to 26-9 for the season. After early exits in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, the 27-year-old is hoping to build on his fourth-round run in Rome last week as he chases his second ATP Tour title of the year.

“I was happy, I felt like I could have moved a little bit better, but it’s always a few nerves in the first match,” said Norrie of his display against Goffin. “I was able to control those in the first set, and I was down an early break in the second and I was able to fight back.”

Norrie’s next opponent in Lyon will be Sebastian Baez. The sixth-seeded Argentine earlier rallied to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 second-round victory against his countryman Pedro Cachin to reach his 10th tour-level quarter-final.

Third seed Tommy Paul also claimed a three-set triumph on Wednesday. Upon resuming his second-round clash with home favourite Gregoire Barrere, which stood at 2-2 in the third set overnight, the American claimed a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 victory in which he saved 11 of 13 break points he faced. He will next take on his fellow American Brandon Nakashima.