ATP Tournament in Geneva, Quarter-finals, Thursday, 22.05.2025, 1:30 p.m.
The French Open 2025 is just around the corner – time to get in top form on clay. Several stars are currently in Geneva, including Karen Khachanov, seeded fourth.
The Russian is the favorite going into his quarterfinal – even if I would love to see an upset. In my Khachanov Ofner tip, I’ll tell you why I think the Austrian will win the set, and maybe even a little more.
Ranked 128th in the world? Not exactly what Sebastian Ofner had in mind. The Austrian has been relegated to the lower ranks, but that’s not really due to poor performances.
After the last US Open, he had to take a long break and didn’t return until mid-March. It didn’t help; Ofner had to undergo surgery on his left foot. Now he is slowly feeling his way back.
He started out competing at the Challenger level, winning the doubles tournament in Menorca. At the Madrid Open, he finally made his return to the big stage. The results: room for improvement, but also a bit promising.
He defeated Hugo Gaston in straight sets, and a 3-6, 6-7 loss to Brandon Nakashima isn’t too bad either. A little later in Rome, the Austrian made it through qualifying, beating Yannick Hanfmann, among others.
After his victory over Roberto Carballes Baena, he faced Frances Tiafoe and lo and behold: Ofner celebrated a very strong 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 victory! A win that gave him confidence for Geneva.
Here, too, the 29-year-old started in the qualifiers, defeating Leo Borg 6-3, 7-5 and Reilly Opelka 7-5, 7-6. He swept Ivan Gachov off the court 6-1, 6-2 to start the main round.
He also made it through the second round with an incredible display of energy. 7-6, 7-6 against Nuno Borges took a lot out of him! The two players were on court for almost two hours, which means that he will be ranked among the top 120 players again after the tournament.
“I’m very happy. I qualified and am now in the quarterfinals. I’m very happy with how I’m playing at the moment. It was a really good match over almost two sets. I had a bit of a slump once or twice, but I managed to get back into the game, and otherwise it was really a good level,” Ofner analyzed.
Although he squandered a 4-1 lead in the first set, he came back strongly. He has never played Karen Khachanov before, so the first match is likely to be an exciting one.
Ofner goes into the match as the underdog, but the odds of 1.48 to 2.55 available from our PayPal bookmakers suggest that we could be in for a close match.
Karen Khachanov is one of the favorites for the title in Geneva, but is competing here for the first time ever. I can’t really say much about his debut because it ended prematurely.
He was leading Kei Nishikori 7-5, 2-5 when the Japanese player had to retire. The Russian was weak, giving away eight break points in less than two sets. Yet he was the one who took a set off Carlos Alcaraz in Rome, winning 3-6, 6-3, 5-7.
The 29-year-old is not in particularly good form at the moment, with his semi-final appearance in Barcelona being a positive exception. However, with Cameron Norrie, Jaume Munar, and Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina, the quality of his opponents was manageable.
This is only the second time this year that Khachanov has reached the quarter-finals. What stood out in his round of 16 match was that Only 59% of his first serves crossed the net.
My Khachanov Ofner tip
Does Sebastian Ofner have a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals in Geneva? I think so! The Austrian has clearly improved in recent weeks, is appearing confident and has faith in his foot, which has undergone surgery.
Karen Khachanov is by no means an overwhelming opponent; he only advanced thanks to his opponent’s injury. That’s why I’ve decided on the following bet:
Ofner will win (at least) one set!
