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Hurkacz sees off top seed Fritz at clay-court ATP 250
May 22, 2025
Extended Highlights: Djokovic wins on 38th birthday; Hurkacz beats Fritz in Geneva 2025
Novak Djokovic earns revenge on Matteo Arnaldi while Hubert Hurkacz ousts top seed Taylor Fritz in Geneva. Watch live & on demand at TennisTV.com.

Novak Djokovic reaches consecutive semi-finals in Geneva.
By Jerome Coombe
Novak Djokovic celebrated his 38th birthday with some hard-fought revenge on Thursday at the Gonet Geneva Open.

The second seed held firm for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi to reach the semi-finals at the clay ATP 250 event for the second consecutive year. Djokovic, who fell to Arnaldi at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid last month, reeled off five straight games from 1-4 in the second set to seal a one-hour, 40-minute victory.

“It’s great to be in the semi-finals again,” said Djokovic, who was defeated by Tomas Machac at that stage last year. “Hopefully this year I can go at least a step further, that’s the goal. I think I’m playing really good tennis. A straight-sets win, but it was much closer than the score indicates. I was 4-1 down in the second, but somehow I didn’t lose a game.

“I found the optimal state and balance, mentally and emotionally, to be able to play my best tennis when it was most needed. Hopefully I can carry that into tomorrow.”

Djokovic is now within two victories of claiming his 100th tour-level trophy, with which he would join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the only men to hit the triple-digit mark in the Open Era.

There were audible gasps when Djokovic held his right knee in pain after stretching for a forehand in the fifth game of the second set. Yet the former World No. 1, who underwent surgery on that knee last year, moved well to disrupt the Italian’s rhythm, letting out a mighty roar when he broke for 5-4 before serving out the clash with ease.

After levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Arnaldi at 1-1, Djokovic next plays qualifier Cameron Norrie. The Briton defeated fifth seed Alexei Popyrin 7-6(6), 6-4 to reach his ninth tour-level semi-final on clay and first since Rio de Janeiro last year.