Four Swiss players featured on Day 1 inside the Roy Emerson Arena, and the home crowd was treated to the highlight of the day in the final match.
Dominic Stricker confirmed his return to form with an outstanding victory in his opening ATP 250 match, defeating Spain’s Jaume Munar (ATP No. 44), who was ranked nearly 320 places above him, 6-2, 6-4. It marks his biggest win since this very tournament a year ago, when he reached the second round. Once again, Gstaad proves to be a special place for Dominic Stricker.
Backed by an enthusiastic Centre Court crowd already fired up by Stan Wawrinka and Jérôme Kym’s doubles match against Marcelo Demoliner and Robert Galloway (4-6, 5-7), the local favourite from Bern rose to the occasion. Rewarding both the fans and the tournament, which awarded him a main draw wild card, Stricker delivered a superb performance. He reaches the Round of 16 in Gstaad for the third time in his career and will next face either France’s Alexandre Muller or Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Shevchenko.
Kilian Feldbausch (ATP No. 262) was unable to join him. The 20-year-old from Geneva lost a hard-fought first-round encounter against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP No. 59), going down 1-6, 6-1, 3-6.
Another Swiss player is nevertheless guaranteed a place in the Round of 16, as Tuesday’s traditional Swiss Day will feature an all-Swiss clash between Jérôme Kym and qualifier Dylan Dietrich.
The action continues with more blockbuster matches in front of a sold-out crowd. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Peru’s Ignacio Buse, both Gstaad semi-finalists over the past two editions, will face off before Stan Wawrinka (ATP No. 117) begins his farewell campaign in the evening session against Portugal’s Jaime Faria (ATP No. 92). A memorable atmosphere and plenty of emotion are guaranteed.