Basel Open Draw: Stan Wawrinka learns fate for final tournament as Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton on collision course
Stan Wawrinka has a difficult opener in his final tournament before retiring following the release of the Basel Open draw.
The 41-year-old is bringing the curtain down on a glittering career, where he won three Grand Slams, an Olympic gold medal in doubles, and got to No 3 in the world.
After more than 20 years on the ATP Tour, though, Wawrinka is set to hang up his racket at the Swiss Indoors, which gets underway on Monday.
The Swiss has been given a wildcard for the ATP 500 event, and in the first round, he will face eighth seed Jiri Lehecka, in what will be their first and last meeting.
If he were to win that, he would face a qualifier or lucky loser in round two, while top seed Ben Shelton is in his half of the draw. Fourth seed and long-time rival Novak Djokovic is also in Wawrinka’s side of the 32-man draw, with the pair potentially meeting in the semi-finals.
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Incidentally, the top eight seeds are: 1) Ben Shelton (2) Arthur Fils (3) Rafael Jodar (4) Novak Djokovic (5) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (6) Taylor Fritz (7) Alexander Bublik (8) Jiri Lehecka.
Shelton, meanwhile, has a tricky opener against former world No 2 Casper Ruud, who has fallen to 25th in the rankings off the back of a tough year.
ATP Finals hopeful Fils also has a difficult opening encounter, as he takes on the in-form Hubert Hurkacz, while Jodar locks horns with Alejandro Tabilo first up.
Wild card Djokovic faces the unorthodox Ugo Humbert, while Shanghai Masters champion Davidovich Fokina will battle Zizou Bergs.
Sixth seed Fritz will once again take on Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat the American in three sets in Shanghai, while Bublik is up against home favourite Dominic Stricker.
Reigning champion Joao Fonseca is unable to defend his title after ending his season due to a troublesome back injury.
There will be plenty to play for in Basel, not just with the title but in the race to Turin. Shelton has already qualified for the season-ending event, while Fils, Jodar, Djokovic, Fritz, and Davidovich Fokina will be hoping to join the big-serving American.
Possible quarter-final lineup:
1) Shelton vs Wawrinka
4) Djokovic vs Bublik (7)
5) Davidovich Fokina vs Jodar (3)
6) Fritz vs Fils (2)
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