Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka will represent the old gaurd at the Swiss Indoors Basel this week.
Chris OddoOctober 25, 20262 minute read
Novak Djokovic is back in Basel for the first time since 2011, as the 24-time Grand Slam champion and owner of 102 ATP titles looks to gain valuable points in his bid to qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
The 39-year-old Serbian, who captured the Basel title on his tournament debut in 2009, faces a tricky first-round encounter with French left-hander Ugo Humbert, a dangerous opponent known for his indoor hard-court prowess.
Djokovic, who has reached at least the final in all three of his Basel appearances, will be looking to make a deep run at the ATP 500 event, which begins Monday.
The Serbian icon is in tenth in the Race to Turin standings at the moment (when we account for Jannik Sinner’s absence) and is 319 points behind eighth place Rafael Jodar.
The Race to Turin will conclude after the Paris Masters, which will be played in eight days.
Meanwhile, Basel will also mark the final ATP appearance in Basel for three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
The 41-year-old Swiss, affectionately known as the “Stanimal,” has reached two semifinals in Basel and owns a 17-17 career record at the tournament. He faces eighth seed Jiri Lehecka in a challenging first-round encounter.
The stakes are also high for several players chasing qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Four contenders feature in the bottom half of the draw: sixth-place Arthur Fils, Jodar, 12th-place Taylor Fritz and 15th-place Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Fils, the second seed, opens against Hubert Hurkacz, while third seed Jodar faces Alejandro Tabilo in his opener. Fritz, seeded sixth and fresh off losing the Lyon final to Lorenzo Musetti, meets former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in another marquee first-round clash.
