Djokovic surges past Griekspoor to reach Geneva SFs

Novak Djokovic dug out of an early hole Thursday to down Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-1 for a place in the semi-finals at the Gonet Geneva Open.

"Great win. I thought that the first set could have gone his way easily because I think he was the better player for most of the first set," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "He had three set points. I was facing 0/40 at 5-4 for him, so we could have been having a completely different direction of the match if he converted those set points."

C L I N I C A L ⚡️@DjokerNole with a confident second set to get past Griekspoor 7-5 6-1 to move into the semi-finals.@genevaopen | #ATPGVA pic.twitter.com/uB3T5NWAHw

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 23, 2024

The Serbian served at 4-5, 0/40 in the opening set, a game during which he fended off four set points. The top seed escaped with either an ace or a hefty first serve that resulted in a missed return from the Dutchman.

In the ensuing game, it was the World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings who jumped to a 0/40 lead, finally breaking Griekspoor after two deuce points. Djokovic then held to love to close the topsy-turvy first set.

"I was lucky to find some really good serves and from that moment onwards really played some good, solid tennis," Djokovic said. "He did help me a bit with the mistakes, I think [the way] I played the second set was really good. So I want to thank everybody again for the support and presence today on a cold day. It's really nice to see you all."

It was a more straightforward second set for the Belgrade native, who broke early and remained in control to improve to 4-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Griekspoor. Djokovic saved all seven break points he faced and converted four of his nine opportunities according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Djokovic, who turned 37 on Wednesday, is the oldest semi-finalist in Geneva tournament history. Making his first appearance at the clay ATP 250, the 98-time tour-level titlist is aiming for his first trophy of the season. Now 14-5 on the year, Djokovic earned his 1,100th tour-level match win Wednesday when he beat Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.

Awaiting in the semi-finals is Czech Tomas Machac, who eliminated #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen 6-3, 7-6(2).

Griekspoor, 27, was returning to court after he finished off Denis Shapovalov earlier in the day, mounting a comeback to down the wild card 6-7(7) 7-6(4), 6-3 and reach his second quarter-final of the season (Rotterdam). The second-round match against Shapovalov was halted Wednesday night due to rain with the Canadian leading 6-7(7), 3-3 0/15.