GENEVA — Swiss teenager Dominic Stricker’s promising tournament debut ended Thursday in the Geneva Open quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to veteran Pablo Andujar.
The 18-year-old Stricker was up a break in the second set against the 35-year-old Andujar, who beat Roger Federer in the previous round.
Stricker, the French Open junior champion, practiced with Federer before the season in Dubai and came to Geneva with a wild-card entry and No. 419 ranking.
That ranking is set for a big move after Stricker beat top-50 players Marin Cilic and Marton Fucsovics in the first two rounds of the rain-affected clay-court event.
Another 35-year-old, Pablo Cuevas, eliminated fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (3), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals.
Third-seeded Casper Ruud struggled early before overcoming Dominik Koepfer 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Ruud will face Andujar in the semifinals Friday.
The last semifinal spot was to be decided in the late match between Denis Shapovalov and Laslo Djere, who each had second-round wins earlier Thursday.
The second-seeded Shapovalov was on court for nearly 2 ½ hours to beat qualifier Marco Cecchinato 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-1. Djere finished off a rain-delayed match against sixth-seeded Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1.
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