As every year, Super Monday marked the official start of the main tournament at Swiss Indoors Basel. In a moving speech, Roger Brennwald evoked the history of the prestigious tournament and outlined the future of one of Switzerland’s most important sporting events.

‘To leave nothing to chance, we’re committed to this location long-term. And that also means holding the event right here at St. Jakob, with its unmistakable appeal both inside and out. Let me say very clearly that Swiss Indoors belongs to Basel and Basel to Swiss Indoors. In short – Basel is “the name of the game”.’

Roger Brennwald, President of Swiss Indoors Basel

After his remarks, the choir of Theater Basel, accompanied by the Christoph Walter Orchestra, took spectators on a musical tour of yesteryear with rousing interpretations of global hits by artists such as Montserrat Caballe, Amy Macdonald, ABBA and Alvaro Soler.

The packed St. Jakobshalle enjoyed not only musical highlights but also world-class tennis. This included the opening match for Grand Slam winner and tour veteran Andy Murray, who defeated the German Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 51) in a riveting duel on Center Court. Alongside the 36-year-old Brit, the 8th-seeded Shanghai semifinalist and next-gen superstar from the US, Sebastian Korda, also picked up his racquet for the first time this tournament. Surprisingly, Korda lost his first-round match against Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry in a three-setter lasting just 1 hour and 54 minutes.