Chijioke Gabriel
Birthday boy Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals at the Geneva Open as he began his latest bid for a 100th ATP title with a straight-set victory over Marton Fucsovics.
Djokovic, who turns 38 on Thursday, won 6-2 6-3 to record his first win on clay since completing the career Golden Slam at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last summer.
The Serb will return to the scene of that triumph – Roland Garros – for the French Open in pursuit of a record-breaking 25th major title from Sunday.
Finalising his preparation for the second slam of the year, this opening victory in Geneva ended a three-match losing streak for Djokovic following first-round exits in Madrid and Monte Carlo since losing the Miami Open final in March.
Seeded second in Switzerland, behind world number four Taylor Fritz, the sixth-ranked Djokovic will meet Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi for a place in the last four.
“It’s great to break the ice in a way,” Djokovic said on court after ending his wait for a win on clay.
“It’s a very demanding surface. We all know how tricky it is to play on clay compared to the other surfaces. You always have to expect to play another one or two shots.
“I’m very glad to be able to play the best tennis when it was most needed. All the way through I was quite focused and pleased with the level of tennis, so hopefully that can continue.”
After he chose to part company with coach and former rival Andy Murray earlier in May following six months working together, Djokovic told media on Wednesday that he felt he “couldn’t get more” out of their partnership.
That decision was announced after Djokovic suffered a second consecutive first-round exit in a disappointing start to his clay court swing, losing to upcoming opponent Arnaldi in Madrid in late April.
The former world number one admitted after that loss that he was facing up to a “new reality” amid his early tournament exits in the twilight of his career.
This was therefore an important confidence boost at the start of his latest bid to become only the third man in the Open Era to win 100 tour-level titles – and just four days before chasing a fourth French Open.
Djokovic outclassed the 134th-ranked Fucsovics, sweeping the Hungarian aside in just 77 minutes.
He did so without facing a single break point, settling the first set with a double break of serve and delivering the decisive blow in the sixth game of the second.
Cameron Norrie reached the quarter-finals in Geneva after opponent Tomas Machac retired with injury in the third set, but fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley lost 6-4 6-3 to Australian Alexei Popyrin.
In Paris, several of Wednesday’s French Open qualifying matches were suspended by rain, with Britons Dan Evans and Fran Jones among those to see their second-round matches postponed until Thursday.
