Geneva Open 2021: Pablo Andujar upsets top-seed Roger Federer
World number 75 Pablo Andujar upset Roger Federer on the Swiss star's return to ATP tour at the Geneva Open. Spain's Andujar bounced back from 2-4 in the deciding set to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that panned out for one hour and 52 minutes at the Parc des Eaux-Vives. The former recorded just his fifth Top 10 win of his career.
Although Federer struggled initially, he started to move well as the match progressed. He still lost the first set 4-6. In the second set, he conceded just four of his service points, thereby posing a threat to Andujar's serve. He won the second set 6-4, taking it to the decider. Federer took a 4-2 lead in the third set, however, Andujar stole a win.
It was Federer's first loss in Switzerland since October 27, 2013, when Juan Martin del Potro beat him in the Swiss Indoors Basel final. Federer was contesting his first match since a quarter-final exit at the Qatar Open, where he lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili. This was also Federer's first clay-court match since the 2019 Roland Garros semi-finals (lost to Rafael Nadal).
Andujar registered only the fifth Top 10 win of his career (overall record: 5-23). Interestingly, his last Top 10 win came over former world number eight David Ferrer in the 2015 Barcelona Open semi-finals. Andujar will next face either fellow Swiss Dominic Stephan Stricker, who is currently at number 419 in the ATP Rankings, or Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
"As [far as wins, this is] number one for sure. To win a tournament could be more emotional, but this is something I think I will remember my whole life," Andujar said after the match. "For me it was very difficult, I couldn't see his serve and he was serving pretty well, so it was difficult for me to return."
The 32-match winning streak of Federer on Swiss soil came to an end on Tuesday. "At 4-2 in the third you feel like 'Oh, that's nice that I was able to turn around the match'. You start feeling better and that's when it dips and everything is over," Federer said. "But we know how tennis goes and that's where it's so brutal sometimes."
