Andy Murray could face world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round of this week’s Geneva Open if he beats German Yannick Hanfmann on Monday.
Djokovic, who suffered a shock defeat to in-form Chilean Alejandro Tabilo at the Internazionali d’Italia in Rome last week, will try to get back on track in Geneva, where he is making his tournament debut.
If he faces Murray, it will be the 37th meeting for the duo, which the Serb leads 25-11.
Djokovic leads the field in Geneva where he will aim for his 99th title at tour level, with two-time champion Casper Ruud also competing. Third-seeded Taylor Fritz and fourth-seeded Ben Shelton also play.
Ruud will start against Australian Rinky Hijikata or a qualifier. The Norwegian has a 9-1 record at the ATP 250 event and lost last year in the quarterfinals to Nicolas Jarry.
Fritz, seeded third, will begin his tournament against fellow American Alex Michelsen or a qualifier.
Another American, Shelton, seeded fourth, will face Flavio Cobolli or Aslan Karatsev in the second round.
There is a first-round clash between sixth-seeded Tallon Griekspoor and Christopher Eubanks.
The Dutchman is the first seed Djokovic could face in the quarter-finals.
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The Sky Sports tennis team explains why Murray decided to change racquets at such a late stage in his career
Also in the Serbian’s half of the draw are third-seeded Fritz and eighth-seeded Jack Draper, who will face Tomas Machac in the first round.
The Geneva Open has become the most prestigious ATP 250 tournament on the calendar, attracting 11 of the world’s top 50 players.
Henman ‘surprised’ Djokovic to play in Geneva
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Highlights of Novak Djokovic’s shock defeat to Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open
“I’m very surprised that Djokovic and Ruud are playing a week before the start of the French Open,” said former British number one Tim Henman. “But obviously Roland Garros is played best of five sets, so you want to keep your energy level at 100%, but they obviously feel like they need more matches.
“I don’t necessarily feel like Djokovic needs to play more and Ruud reached the final in Monte Carlo and won Barcelona. It’s a surprise. It shows these guys want more competition.”
Annabel Croft said: “It’s a bit weird because a lot of these top players use the first rounds to get in. They have to play a lot of tennis and he knows how to win matches. He can push a button and do things correctly back on track. He’s just played a lot less tennis this year and he arrives without a single victory.
“Maybe he left and thought ‘I want to be a bit more positive about this’ by going to France, but what you don’t want is a massive amount of matches and physical problems. He knows his body and his mind better, but it’s interesting.”
Great to see Andy back on the pitch
“At least he got that match time. It didn’t look like Andy was moving particularly well (in his loss to Frenchman Grégoire Barrere at a Challenger event in Bordeaux) with fluidity,” Henman said.
“He looked a little uncomfortable at times. Fingers crossed that this gives him something to work on before Geneva and, hopefully, Roland Garros.”
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Andy Murray celebrated his 29th birthday in 2016 by beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters with perhaps his greatest match point of all time.
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