SWEDISH OPEN: With the grass season now fully behind us, the ATP Tour continues on clay with the Swiss Open. With Casper Ruud not returning to attempt a hat-trick at the event, it provides a great opportunity for there to be a new name on the trophy, and we’re going to take a look at the main contenders.
Roberto Bautista Agut – No.1 seed
Roberto Bautista Agut has been around on the ATP Tour for over a decade now, reaching his first final exactly 10 years ago. Bautista Agut is still one of the top players on the tour ranking 23rd in the world and this tournament is the perfect opportunity to claim his first title of the year.
The Spaniard is a brilliant all-round player who doesn’t particularly have a favoured surface, but he has a very respectable record on clay – reaching 3 ATP Tour finals and winning two of them. He won one of those titles as recently as last year when he was victorious in the Austrian Open in July 2022.
The former top 10 player reached the final here in 2018 and narrowly lost out to Matteo Berrettini in a close fought game, which saw the first set end in tie break. As the number one seed here, Bautista Agut will be hoping to pick up his first ATP Title of the year to take his career total to 12.
Dominic Thiem – Former champion
Dominic Thiem is the only returning champion in the field this year and he is only playing as a replacement for Jan-Lennard Struff who has withdrawn from the tournament.
Like many other big names on the tour, the former world number three has been plagued by injuries in the past few years but he is looking to mount a comeback and 2023 has certainly been a step in the right direction for the world number 90.
Thiem has been somewhat unlucky with draws this year as his best performances have come on clay, but he has suffered defeats earlier than he would have liked in tournaments having faced the likes of Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev all before the round of 16 stage this year.
There are none of the world’s top 20 in action here and Thiem’s experience at the top level could certainly go a long way to helping him repeat his 2015 success here and securing his first ATP title since 2020.
Stan Wawrinka – Continuing his comeback
Between 2014 and 2017, Stan Wawrinka was one of the most formidable players on tour, winning three Grand Slam titles and reaching three semi-finals, but the former world number three has struggled with injuries and at the age of 38 is now attempting a comeback.
With injuries affecting him since late 2017, the current world number 87 returned to the top 100 for the first time since 2019 this year and has shown signs of improvement. Known for his powerful one-handed backhand and his elite baseline play, Wawrinka excels on clay and has won seven ATP titles on the surface, as well as that famous French Open title back in 2015.
Back in his home country of Switzerland, Wawrinka will be hoping to make another big stride in his comeback and a title here would likely mean a lot more than many of his 16 other ATP titles which he won whilst he was at the top of his game between 2014 and 2017.
Jiri Lehecka – Back for more
Jiri Lehecka is not as recognisable a name as the other three but the Czech player cannot be ignored as the world number 37 and the number one ranked player from his country at the age of just 21.
Lehecka does not have an ATP Tour title to his name but he has had some impressive performances, most notably in the Australian Open earlier this year where he reached the quarter finals by Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Lehecka is a very talented player who will have to use his youth to his advantage. With a selection of the ATP Tour’s best from the past decade to get past, this year’s Swiss Open will be a tough challenge for him, but he is ever-improving and could be one to watch here and in future tournaments.
