ATP Tour

Sonego, Kecmanovic earn R1 wins in Gstaad

Lorenzo Sonego backed up his third-round run at Wimbledon on Monday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, where he downed Austrian Joel Schwaerzler 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the second round at the ATP 250.

Sonego earned wins against Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Gabriel Diallo at Wimbledon and made a smooth return to clay in Switzerland, where he saved both break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, in his one-hour, 51-minute win.

The Italian Sonego is making his fourth appearance in Gstaad but had never previously earned a win at the event. The No. 83 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next play seventh seed Raphael Collignon, who beat Timofey Skatov 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.

"I like to play here. It is tough to adjust to the conditions after arriving from the grass season," Sonego said in his on-court interview. "It is tough to change because the bounce is so high. I am so happy to reach the second round and I played well."

The 20-year-old Schwaerzler was using a Next Gen Accelerator spot to compete in Gstaad. In 2026, players aged 20 and under inside the Top 250 can receive one main-draw spot and two qualifying spots at certain ATP 250 tournaments. Read more about the PIF ATP Next Gen Accelerator here.

In other action, former Gstaad semi-finalist Miomir Kecmanovic beat Swiss wild card Kilian Feldbausch 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Kecmanovic forced eventual Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner to five sets in the first round at The Championships two weeks ago.

Swiss wild card Dominic Stricker moved past Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-4 to record his first win of the season and earn his first Top-50 victory since Basel in 2024, when he defeated Tallon Griekspoor. The former Next Gen ATP Finals competitor has now earned four wins at the ATP 250 event.

French qualifier Clement Tabur also advanced, defeating Jurij Rodionov 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Tabur will play fourth seed Arthur Rinderknech in the second round at the clay-court event.