Roger Federer to face Pablo Andujar in clay-court comeback in Geneva

GENEVA: Pablo Andujar set up a second-round meeting with Roger Federer at the Geneva Open by beating Jordan Thompson 6-0, 6-4 on Monday.

Federer is set to face the 75th-ranked Andujar on Tuesday evening in Geneva where persistent rain has fallen for several days and is forecast through the weekend.

It will be Federer’s first match on clay in almost two years, since a semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal at the 2019 French Open.

Federer is top-seeded for the Geneva Open, which is just his second tournament in the past 15 months after having two surgeries on his right knee. He lost his second match at the Doha Open in Qatar in March.

“When you come back from an injury, you’re in a different place than everyone else,” the 39-year-old Federer said Monday. “I am excited about the comeback and won’t be focused on being at the same level as Rafa (Nadal) or Novak (Djokovic) right now.”

In Federer’s half of the tournament draw, 67th-ranked American Tennys Sandgren won 6-3, 6-4 against Salvatore Caruso.

In the opposite half, eighth-seeded Adrian Mannarino was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by fellow Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.