Hanfmann has Murray on the ropes, Djokovic in his sights

German veteran Yannick Hanfmann was within two games of defeating Andy Murray in the opening round of the Geneva Open Monday when rain suspended play for the night.

The No. 85 in the PIF ATP Rankings was serving with a commanding 7-5, 4-1 lead when the courts were covered and less than an hour later, with no let-up in the rain, officials scrubbed all remaining play.

Should he close out victory in his Geneva debut Tuesday, the 32-year-old will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round.

Hanfmann, who helped the USC Trojans win two NCAA national titles during his college days, is chasing his 10th match win of the year.

Murray was playing his first tour-level match since injuring his ankle in Miami in March. He returned to competition last week at the ATP Challenger 175 in Bordeaux, where he began playing with a Yonex racquet for the first time. He fell in the second round to Frenchman Gregoire Barrere.

This backhand 😮‍💨 @YannickHanfmann

Hanfmann leads a set and a break over Murray.@genevaopen | #ATPGVA pic.twitter.com/KZOr2C7NqR

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 20, 2024

Earlier in the day Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko defeated seventh-seed Hungarian Fabian Marozsan for the second time this month (Rome) after serving six aces and winning 76 per cent of first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats in his 6-4, 7-6(4) win.

Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori claimed his first tour-level win since Doha in late February when he defeated Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-3, avenging his recent three-set loss to the American in Rome.