Novak Djokovic wins on 37th birthday to advance at Geneva Open

Novak Djokovic emerged victorious on the day of his 37th birthday after defeating Yannick Hanfmann from Germany in a match that was disrupted by rain. This victory has allowed him to progress to the quarter-finals of the Geneva Open.

Djokovic, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles, participated in the ATP 250 competition in Switzerland to gear up for the French Open. This was his first time competing in the event and he scored a 6-3 6-3 win.

He became just the third tennis player, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer, to achieve 1,100 victories while competing on the ATP Tour.

Following the conclusion of the game, the audience burst into song, wishing Djokovic a cheerful birthday. Additionally, officials in charge of the competition awarded him a delectable chocolate cake to celebrate the occasion.

Djokovic expressed that winning the match was crucial to making his birthday experience unique.

I feel a lot of gratitude towards everyone who showed up to show their support and a big thanks for the birthday tune. It was a very meaningful moment for me.

As of now, the player who holds the top ranking in the world has not made it to any finals in the year 2024. In their upcoming match, they will be playing against one of two contenders - either Denis Shapovalov from Canada or the sixth seed player from the Netherlands, Tallon Griekspoor.

In the initial stage, Hanfmann emerged victorious with a score of 7-5 6-2 over Andy Murray from Britain. This was Murray's debut ATP Tour-level match after he suffered ankle ligament injuries during the Miami Open in March.

The 32-year-old German, ranked 85th in the world, lost his serve to Djokovic in the sixth game and was unable to capitalize on two chances to break back.

During the match between Djokovic and Hanfmann, when the score was 5-3 in Djokovic's favor, Hanfmann failed to take advantage of four chances to break Djokovic's serve. The ninth game was paused at deuce due to rain, which caused a delay of over an hour.

After the game resumed, Djokovic swiftly won the set. However, in the second set, Hanfmann managed to break Djokovic's serve and take a lead of 3-0.

There was an opportunity for him to take a two-point lead, but he didn't make it because Djokovic fought back in the next round, helped by an impressive drop shot that Hanfmann couldn't catch.

Djokovic was able to secure the winning score by delivering two exceptional shots across the court during the ninth stage. This helped him secure the win as he managed to win the next six consecutive games.

At the beginning of the month, he was defeated by Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open, with a score of 6-2 6-3. It only took 67 minutes for the match to be decided. However, the player claimed that he wasn't at his best due to the consequences of being accidentally hit on the head by a water bottle two days prior.

On Sunday, the French Open will commence, and Djokovic aims to defend his championship and emerge victorious for the fourth time.