Roger Federer loses comeback match to Andujar at Geneva Open

Roger Federer misplaced his comeback match after two months away, falling to Pablo Andujar 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Tuesday within the second spherical of the Geneva Open.
Federer’s first match on clay in virtually two years saved him on court docket for nearly two hours in solely his second event because the 2020 Australian Open. The previous 15 months have included two surgical procedures on his proper knee.
In the decisive set, the top-seeded Federer pressured a service break and led 4-2 earlier than Andujar rallied.
Federer saved two match factors on his personal serve, however the third ended with a wayward forehand below strain on the baseline.
Andujar put his arms to his head after clinching victory and exchanged an virtually apologetic smile with Federer on the internet.
The 39-year-old Federer and 35-year-old Andujar had been enjoying one another on tour for the primary time.
Before occurring court docket, Federer was a spectator for a part of the ATP Tour debut of maybe the perfect prospect in Swiss males’s tennis since his personal rise within the Nineties.
With Federer watching a number of the match, 18-year-old Dominic Stephan Stricker beat former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6 (5), 6-1 within the first spherical.
Stricker, final 12 months’s French Open junior champion, is ranked 419th. Cilic, who received his solely Grand Slam singles title in 2014, is ranked forty sixth.
The Swiss left-hander had 9 aces and no double-faults. He broke Cilic’s serve 4 instances and was damaged solely twice.
“I was getting nervous,” Stricker mentioned. “It was actually OK until 5-1, 30-love. I was happy to finish it at 6-1 and not serve again.”
Stricker has practiced beforehand with Federer. His subsequent opponent will likely be Fortieth-ranked Marton Fucsovics, who beat Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen 7-5, 7-5.