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The Swiss Indoors draw has been thrown into chaos after several big-name players pulled out, forcing organisers to do some reshuffling. The ATP 500 event in Basel still has a star-stunned lineup, as Novak Djokovic is set to make his return to competition, while former world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka will end his glittering career on home soil. But fans have been denied the chance to see some blockbuster first-round clashes, with a couple of stars suddenly being bumped up to seeded positions following withdrawals.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was set to come in as the No. 5 seed, facing Zizou Bergs in his first match since lifting the Shanghai Masters trophy earlier this month. But the Spaniard suddenly pulled out on the eve of the tournament citing illness.
Alexander Bublik, who was going to be the seventh seed in Basel, also withdrew shortly after retiring in the middle of his Almaty semi-final over the weekend. He had been drawn to play Swiss wildcard Dominic Stricker.
It means that the two players with the next-highest rankings in the draw, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz, have taken their positions and become the No. 9 and 10 seeds. Ruud will now take on Stricker, while Hurkacz faces Bergs.
It’s a lifeline for both men, who had the toughest draws possible before their sudden updrages. Ruud was initially meant to face No. 1 seed Ben Shelton, while Hurkacz was up against second seed Arthur Fils. While it’s good news for Ruud and Hurkacz, fans will be denied some exciting first-round matches.
And they’ve also been denied a mouthwatering clash between Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek star pulled out with a right shoulder injury. It came after Tsitsipas’ three-set semi-final loss in Almaty. No. 6 Fritz would have been out for revenge after losing to Tsitsipas in Shanghai just a few weeks ago.
Four lucky losers have now entered the draw. Rinky Hijikata has come into the draw to face Fritz, while Aleksandar Kovacevic takes on Shelton and Mika Brunold takes on Nuno Borges. Daniel Altmaier has been drawn against qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and French qualifier Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will meet his countryman, Fils.
Two other qualifiers, Yannick Hanfmann and Remy Bertola, made it to the main draw. Hanfmann faces fellow German star and Brussels runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff, and home home Bertola is up against Denis Shapovalov.
Despite some late withdrawals and reshuffling, the Basel draw is still stacked and there are plenty of exciting storylines this week. Three-time Major champion Wawrinka is playing the final tournament of his career, aged 41. He’s up against No. 8 seed Jiri Lehecka.
Last week, Wawrinka earned his first tour-level win since May, as he stunned 20-year-old Martin Landaluce in a final-set tiebreak in Lyon. And the former world No. 3 has already been practising on-site with an old foe, Djokovic.
The Serbian superstar took a wildcard into the Swiss Indoors shortly after he suffered a shock opening-round exit in Shanghai. Before that, Djokovic lifted his 102nd career title in Beijing. The world No. 12 has made it no secret that he wants to qualify for this year’s ATP Finals, and he faces Ugo Humbert in round one here.
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