Geneva (AFP)

Roger Federer was eliminated from the start at the Geneva tournament on Tuesday, losing to Spaniard Pablo Andujar, 75th in the world (4-6, 6-4, 4-6), for his first match on clay in nearly two years.

Uncomfortable on his serve, Federer (8th in the world) lost the first set and won the second, before spoiling a break in advance in the third set to lose in 1 hour 54.

No one knew about Covid-19 and the 'Big Three' still reigned supreme on the ATP Tour the last time Federer played on clay.

It was almost two years ago, on June 7, 2019, when the Swiss lost in the semi-final of Roland Garros against his best enemy Rafael Nadal.

Since then, the pandemic has turned everything upside down, and Federer, now 39, has only appeared very occasionally on the courts, with a double knee operation that took him away from the circuit for more than a year between February 2020 and March 2021.

Two and a half months before his 40th birthday, the "GOAT" was playing his third game of the year, he who aspires to be 100% again at Wimbledon, where he will aim for a 21st Grand Slam title and the 9th in London, absolute records for men.

But on clay, a surface where he himself admits being less comfortable, it was he who gave in first to Andujar, whom he had never faced.

The Spaniard grabbed the only break point in the first set to surprise the Swiss.

Encouraged by the very small public (around a hundred people), sanitary restrictions oblige, from the Eaux-Vives court, "Roger" raised his level of play in the second set, leaving at times to glimpse the magic of his technique.

He converted his first break point, in the third game, to take the lead and come back to an inning all over.

In the last set, he broke the Spaniard again in the third game ... but then showed a fatal slack.

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Andujar was able to pick up at 4-4, then get three match points on the service of the Swiss, at 5-4.

The third was the right one.

In the next round, Andujar will face either the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, winner in 2018 in Geneva, or the young Swiss Dominic Stephan Stricker, novice on the main circuit and striker of Marin Cilic in the previous round.

© 2021 AFP