Novak Djokovic Gets Off to Winning Start in Geneva

It will undoubtedly take more for Novak Djokovic to reassure himself, but the Serb provided the essentials on Wednesday for his entry into the running in Geneva. Thanks to his victory in two sets against Yannick Hanfmann (6-3, 6-3), he will play at least a second match on the banks of Lake Geneva. And that’s what he came for a few days before the launch of Roland-Garros: play, rhythm, competition. In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between Denis Shapovalov and Tallon Griekspoor.

The score tells of a quiet victory for the world No. 1. But the duel was much tighter than it suggests. About fifteen minutes before concluding the match with several hard-hitting forehands, Djokovic had to save a 0-4 ball which could have completely changed the nature of the match. And he himself considered himself “lucky” to have managed to finish the first set without damage.

The match was interrupted for almost an hour by rain

At 5-3 and serving for this first act, “Nole” had to save five break points, helped by a German who was not bleeding enough when making one of the legends of his sport tremble. The subtlety is that the rain interrupted this game for almost an hour. Returning to the court at 40-40, the two men did not have a warm-up round. Hanfmann got another break point but again missed his chance when Djokovic grabbed his on the set point.

The Serb, borrowed or even out of balance on certain shots, was unable to free himself behind. He continued to abuse drop shots and lost his serve by releasing one on break point. At 2-0 Hanfmann at the start of the set, he played a few points without fighting and it was finally when he was cornered, very close to being led 4-0, that he reacted. He chained six games in a row and found more length and heaviness on some of his shots. But he will undoubtedly need even more if he wants to continue smiling during this week in Geneva.

2024-05-22 19:32:32
#Novak #Djokovic #beats #Yannick #Hanfmann #Geneva #qualifies #quarters