Albert Ramos-Vinolas will meet Fabio Fognini in the First Round of the 2023 Swiss Open. The match will be played on Tuesday July 18th, 2023. 

Albert Ramos-Vinolas is unseeded here at the 2023 Swiss Open and is ranked 79th in the world. While he is approaching the end of his career, he is still a very capable clay court player, and can be very difficult to beat. He has been very consistent on this surface throughout his career, however he has a losing record over the past season, sitting at 11-14 which is quite concerning. He is returning to a tournament where he has had a lot of success, winning the title in 2019 and reaching the Semi-Finals last season, losing to eventual champion Casper Ruud. While he has been out of sorts lately, his clay court ability and record here in Gstaad make him the slight favorite here against Fabio Fognini. 

Fabio Fognini is also unseeded here at the 2023 Swiss Open and is ranked 55th in the world. The Italian was once a top 10 player but has seen his ranking and form decline terribly, and would in fact be outside the top 100 without ranking protection. Like his opponent Albert Ramos-Vinolas, he has been having a poor season in 2023, but is also returning to a successful tournament for him, having won the tournament in 2017. He has been unpredictable throughout his career, but his fitness, speed and strength are declining and he is a shel of his former self. 

This is a difficult match to predict due to both men’s poor recent form, but overall I think that I trust Albert Ramos-Vinolas more, and he should win this match. As always, Fabio Fognini is a wild card and can surprise us, but the smart money is on the steady Spaniard. This match is probably best avoided, but give me reliable over inconsistent any day of the week, especially at this stage in their careers.