Novak Djokovic is within striking distance of his 100th title and will meet Hurkacz in the final in Geneva
At last night's Geneva Open, 38-year-old tennis legend Novak Djokovic put on a strong show to beat qualifier Cameron Norrie to reach the final, just one win away from his 100th career tour title. If he wins in the final, he will join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as only three men's singles players in the Open era to have 100 titles.
This semi-final was a hard-fought battle. Djokovic overcame his ups and downs in the middle of the match to win 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1. In the second set tie-break, he held match point at one point, but missed the opportunity due to nervousness. But the veteran quickly reverted to his mindset and showed his flawless form in the deciding set to earn his ticket to his 35th clay-court tournament final.
Speaking after the game, Djokovic said:
"It was the toughest three-set match I've had in the tournament. In the second set, he broke serve for a lead, and I chased it to tie-break, and although I had match points, I was a little nervous. But I'm glad that the third set was readjusted and I had the best set of the tournament so far. ”
Previously, Djokovic had lost in the first round in Monte Carlo and Madrid, and his performance on clay was questioned. At the Geneva Open, however, his performance was encouraging.
Despite dropping a set against Norrie, Djokovic relied on his trademark precision shots and excellent tactical awareness to keep his opponent firmly pressed from the baseline and gradually found his best form.
It is worth mentioning that Djokovic has twice come close to reaching the 100th Championships, losing in the final of the Shanghai Masters last year and the final in Miami in March this year. The Geneva Open is another big chance for him to hit the mark.
In the final, Djokovic's opponent will be No. 6 seed Hurkacz. In the previous ATP record between the two sides, Djokovic has a 7-0 advantage. Three of the seven encounters were on hard courts, two on clay and two on grass.
Hurkacz also had a good run in Geneva, where he swept past qualifier Sebastian 6-3, 6-4 in his earlier match. Ofner, who successfully advanced to the final. According to Infosys ATP data, Hurkacz showed a strong competitiveness with an 88% first-serve scoring rate (29 out of 33) and seven aces.
Hurkacz said after the match: "I'm very happy with my performance, Sebastian started from qualifying and played well this week, beating a lot of good players. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. Luckily, I broke early in both sets, which set the tone for the match. In particular, my serve is in good shape and my baseline performance is very stable. ”
Hurkacz has not dropped a set in Geneva and has been impressive in the quarter-finals with a win over top seed Taylor Fritz. The 28-year-old won last year's ATP 250 on clay in Estoril, his only clay title. Hurkacz will be keen to break the record against his opponent in the final, while Djokovic will be aiming for a landmark 100th career title.
Time: Saturday, 9:00 p.m. CST.
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