GINEBRA.- Novak Djokovic He celebrated his 37th birthday by beating Yannick Hanfman 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open.
It was the 1,100th victory for the world number one.
Djokovic overturned a 3-0 deficit in the last set, taking the last six games against his German opponent. He converted his second match point when Hanfmann’s forehand return ended up in the net.
The 32-year-old Hanfmann broke Djokovic’s serve in the second game of the set when the Serbian weakened his first serve.
“The key was the birthday,” said a smiling Djokovic. “The birthday probably wouldn’t be the same if he hadn’t won the game.”
The second round match was suspended earlier due to rain as Djokovic tried to close out the first set with serve. The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost a set point and saved four break points before rain interrupted the match.
He saved another break after the restart, but finally pocketed the set with an ace.
Hanfmann had just eliminated Andy Murray in the first round, winning 7-5, 6-2.
Djokovic gets ready for Paris:
Djokovic received an invitation from the organizers of the 250 category tournament in Geneva due to the need to film with a view to the French Open,
In search of his first title of the season, Djokovic will now face Denis Shapovalov or Tallon Griekspoor.
The Geneva final will be on Saturday, one day before the start of main draw activity at Roland Garros, where Djokovic is the defending champion.
The Serb recently noted that he considers Spaniard Rafael Nadal to be the “top favorite” to win it all in Paris, due to his successful track record on the sacred clay.
Source: With information from AP
