Birthday boy Djokovic survives knee scare in Geneva, earns Arnaldi revenge

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.”

The birthday boy gets his revenge 💪@DjokerNole is semi-final bound after getting past Arnaldi 6-4 6-4.@genevaopen | #GonetGenevaOpen pic.twitter.com/HJ8RkDWJuq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 22, 2025

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.

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In the other half of the draw, Hubert Hurkacz continued his strong run of form by dismissing top seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-6(5) in a high-quality serving battle. The Pole dropped just six of 45 first-serve points and saved all three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to his 22nd tour-level semi-final.

Hurkacz, who reached the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome last week, triumphed at the last clay-court ATP 250 he played in Estoril last year. He trailed 1/3 in the second-set tie-break against Fritz, but responded with an ace down the middle at 5/5 before converting his only match point.

“Thank you all for being out here, it’s maybe not the best weather in Geneva but we appreciate the support,” Hurkacz said to the crowd. “[I hope] that you are enjoying tennis here as [much as] I am.”

Hurkacz will next face qualifier Sebastian Ofner, who rallied past fourth seed Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Ofner, the No. 128 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will aim to advance to his second final after reaching the championship match at the grass-court ATP 250 in Mallorca last year.