Novak Djokovic, one victory away from his 100th title

▲ The Serbian tennis player (pictured), winner of 24 Grand Slams, will play the final of the Geneva tournament against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, seeking to enhance his legacy. AP Photo

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 24, 2025, p. a11

Geneva. Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is one victory away from his 100th singles title, after defeating Britain's Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in the semifinals of the Geneva Open yesterday.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion had a tough match, losing a match point in the second set, but regained his strength and confidence to advance to the final round where he will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

Meanwhile, Hurkacz, ranked 31st in the ATP rankings , defeated Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Djokovic has already achieved his main goal by participating in the Geneva tournament: getting some experience in clay-court matches before heading to Roland Garros for the French Open, which begins on Sunday.

Djokovic's level of glory returned at least in this tournament, as he strung together three consecutive victories in three days, including Thursday's victory when Nole celebrated his 38th birthday with a triumph over Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

It was a scenario that put the bitter defeats in their debuts at both clay court tournaments in Monte Carlo and Madrid, which took place last month, to one side.

Although that goal seemed to slip away in the match, Djokovic trailed 5-2 in the second set, then won three consecutive games and held a match point in the tiebreak. But he missed a return serve and Norrie forced a deciding set.

An early break of serve came in the third set and was backed by a dominant serve as Djokovic closed out the semifinal on a court that was bathed in sunshine, unusually this week.