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The post-Wimbledon clay swing continues in Europe, with the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad next up on the ATP calendar. The ATP 250 event will be held in the ski resort of Gstaad, Switzerland, from July 18-24. Although it's not part of the French Open tune-up events, the tournament has still attracted quite a stacked field of players for its upcoming edition.
World No. 5 and top seed Casper Ruud returns to defend his title, while Queen's Club champion Matteo Berrettini is seeded second. Apart from these two names, the Swiss Open also has the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut and Dominic Thiem in the draw.
Without further ado, let's take a look at everything you need to know about the tournament:
What is the Swiss Open in Gstaad?
Founded in 1898, the Swiss Open is one of the oldest events on the ATP tour. Having previously been a part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, it has been included in the ATP tour since 1990. Located at an altitude of 1,050m (3,450 feet) above sea level, it's the highest venue for an ATP tour event in Europe.
Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Ilie Nastase, Guillermo Vilas, Ken Rosewall, Stefan Edberg, Sergei Bruguera, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem are some of its past champions.
Venue
The tournament will be held on the outdoor claycourts of the Roy Emerson Arena in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad. The stadium, which has a capacity of 4,500 seats, was named after the Australian tennis legend Emerson, who won a record five titles at the tournament.
Players
The top four seeds in the 28-player field at the Swiss Open are Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Roberto Bautista Agut and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. All four players have received a bye into the second round.
Defending champion Ruud comes into this tournament off a second round defeat at Bastad this week. The Roland Garros runner-up will be eager to rediscover his touch in Gstaad after a disappointing run of tournaments.
Meanwhile, after winning back-to-back grasscourt titles at Stuttgart and Queen's Club, Matteo Berrettini had to pull out of Wimbledon following a positive COVID-19 test. Gstaad will be his first tournament in a month.
Bautista Agut fell in a gritty three-set battle to Dominic Thiem in his opener at Bastad. The Spaniard will be keen to put it behind him and make a deep run in this Swiss tournament.
Having won his first title of the season on the outdoor claycourts of Cordoba, World No. 38 Albert Ramos-Vinolas will be eyeing his second in Gstaad. Pedro Martinez, Cristian Garin, Hugo Gaston, and Joao Sousa round out the top eight seeds.
Dominic Thiem and Lorenzo Sonego are two other players to keep an eye on. The resurgent Thiem, a champion in 2015, made it to the quarterfinals in Bastad this week and will be eager to build on it. Sonego, meanwhile, bowed out in the first round of the Nordea Open and will be desperate to bounce back next week.
The full draw can be accessed here.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds in Gstaad are scheduled for Sunday, July 17 and Monday, July 18. The main-draw action kicks off on July 18.
The quarterfinals, semifinals and the final will be held on July 22, 23 and 24 respectively. The timings for the semifinals are 11 am and 1.30 pm, while the final is scheduled for 11.30 am.
Prize Money
The total financial commitment for the upcoming edition of the Swiss Open is €597,900, while the prize money is €534,555. The winner will take home 250 points and a cheque of €81,310.
Where to watch
Viewers from the US can catch all the action at the Swiss Open live on the Tennis Channel, while fans in the UK will be able to see it live on Amazon Prime Video.
Canadians can watch the matches live on TSN. In Australia, one can view the action on beIN Sports.
In Switzerland, Sky Deutschland will telecast the tournament.
Live action can also be followed on TennisTV.
