Novak Djokovic will always remember his first outing at the Parc des Eaux-Vives, as he secured his 1,100th ATP Tour win on the day of his 37th birthday. Cheered on by a vociferous crowd, the world No. 1 saw off the threat posed by the dangerous Yannick Hanfmann (ATP 85) in straight sets.
His 6-3 6-3 victory was not all plain sailing, however, with the German forcing 11 break points, including one for 4-0 in the second set, but was able to convert only one of them. The Serb’s resilience reflected his desire to go the distance at his maiden Gonet Geneva Open. Before he went off to enjoy his birthday cake, Djokovic reminded everyone just why he is the best by winning outstanding back-to-back points on the Hanfmann serve at 0-15 and 0-30. As those rallies showed, he has every intention of taking up Casper Ruud on his offer of a dream final on Saturday, a match-up that the whole of Geneva is crossing its fingers for. A former two-time champion here, the Norwegian was taken all the way by Austria’s Sebastian Ofner (ATP 45), eventually prevailing 4-6 6-2 6-2.
Another highlight of the day was a standout win for Alex Michelsen (ATP 65) in a spicy all-American meeting with Taylor Fritz (ATP 12). The 19-year-old Californian needed five match points to eventually see off his compatriot 6-4 4-6 7-5 and advance to his first quarter-final in an ATP Tour clay-court tournament.
