Novak Djokovic celebrates birthday with victory over Yannick Hanfmann to progress in Geneva Open

Published 22/05/2024 at 21:03 GMT

Novak Djokovic rediscovered his winning touch on clay as he brushed aside the man that defeated Andy Murray, Yannick Hanfmann, in Geneva. The Serb registered a 6-3 6-3 victory in the second round of the ATP 250 event, where he is making his debut a week before the French Open. The world No. 1 had suffered early exits in Monte Carlo and Rome previously, hence his decision to play in Switzerland.

Djokovic cruises past Hanfmann to celebrate birthday in style

Novak Djokovic returned to winning ways at the ATP 250 event in Geneva, as he beat Yannick Hanfmann, who beat Andy Murray in the first round.

Djokovic, a surprise wild card entry at the event, signed up late for the tournament and was immediately placed into the draw as the top seed, receiving a bye into the second round.

He could have faced Andy Murray in his first match in Switzerland, but instead he was up against the German Hanfmann, who defeated the Briton easily across two days 7-5 6-2 after an initial stoppage due to rain, wind, and pollen on Tuesday.

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However, Hanfmann's fairytale would go no further than the second round, with the world No. 1 recording a comfortable 6-3 6-3 victory to celebrate his 37th birthday.

The Serb, who has 24 Grand Slam titles to his name, is making his Geneva debut, and is uncharacteristically playing in a tournament the week prior to the French Open, something he has not done since Belgrade in 2021.

The reason why Djokovic has elected to play in Switzerland is due to his premature exits in both Monte Carlo and Rome, where he lost in the semi-finals to Casper Ruud and the second round to Alejandro Tabilo respectively.

However, he rediscovered his winning formula on the Swiss dirt as he brushed Hanfmann aside to become only the third player in ATP history to register 1,100 wins on the tour, behind Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

Djokovic had had to recover from a head wound he suffered from a water bottle that hit him two days prior to his defeat in Rome, with the injury reported to have given him nausea, dizziness, and bleeding, with Djokovic saying that he felt "different" on the court during his defeat to Tabilo.

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The Serb had also decided to skip playing in either Barcelona or Madrid before the French Open, where he is the reigning champion, which would have left him low on preparation matches ahead of the calendar year's second Grand Slam.

Djokovic is chasing his first Slam of the year after he was knocked out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

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