The one prominent country which hasn’t seen many top men’s singles players taking part in the same clay swing tournament in 2024 is the USA. Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda were the biggest American names at the Monte Carlo Masters recently, but none of them could make it past the second round. However, Fritz and Korda will be joined by Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe for the Madrid Open 2024 and the quartet have also confirmed themselves for the Geneva Open ATP 250 event.
Ben Shelton last played in a clay tournament at the Houston Open 2024, which he won by defeating Frances Tiafoe in the final. And Tiafoe too was seen last in action in Houston. Taylor Fritz lost to Jan-Lennard Struff in the final of the BMW Open 2024 in Munich recently. While Korda will be aiming to bank on his performances in Madrid and Geneva to prepare for the French Open.
The Geneva Open will take place exactly a week before the French Open 2024. It is a great opportunity for the Americans since not many top-ranked players are participating in Geneva. Casper Ruud, the World No.6, will be the highest-ranked player to confirm his availability. While Ruud will be the #1 seed at the Swiss-based tournament, America’s Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Tommy Paul are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds respectively. Other Americans who will be playing in the tournament from the third week of May include Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron.
Jan-Lennard Struff and other European talents such as Fabian Marozsan, Tallon Griekspoor, and Jiri Lehecka will entertain fans. Additionally, Sebastian Baez and Nicolas Jarry are among the elite players from South America.
Are Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton USA’s best hopes on clay?
Despite having struggled to win on clay, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are being smart and selective in their appearances. A win in Houston was vital for Shelton as apart from Tiafoe, he also beat the likes of Zizou Berges, Brandon Nakashima and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Taylor Fritz, who had an embarrassing opening-round loss at the Monte Carlo Masters 2024, overcame A Mora Canas, Jack Draper and Cristian Garin to enter the finals of the BMW Open 2024. Although Fritz lost in the finals to Struff, he gained some much needed practice on the surface to gain momentum ahead of other important tournaments.
While Shelton and Fritz might make deep runs in the tournament from the USA, it will be extremely difficult for either of them to defeat Casper Ruud in the Geneva Open 2024. No other player on tour has been in better form on the clay court surfaces as the Norwegian made it to the semifinals at Estoril Open 2024, finals of the Monte Carlo Masters 2024 and was the winner of the Barcelona Open 2024.
Undoubtedly, Ruud will be the favorite to win the title for a record 3rd time.
