Birthday boy Novak Djokovic avenges Matteo Arnaldi loss in Geneva

GENEVA - Novak Djokovic overcame soggy conditions on his 38th birthday to beat Matteo Arnaldi on May 22 and reach the Geneva Open semi-finals in a tune-up event for Roland Garros.

The former world number one retrieved a break in the second set to claim a 6-4, 6-4 win over the 39th-ranked Italian who dumped him out at the first hurdle in Madrid in April.

Djokovic is hunting the 100th title of his career on the eve of the French Open having not won a tournament since capturing Olympic gold in Paris in August 2024.

“It’s great to be in the semi-finals again. Last year, I played the semi-finals. Hopefully, this year I can go at least a step further. That’s the goal,” said Djokovic.

Djokovic, who received a wild card to play in Geneva after skipping Rome, will meet Australia’s Alexei Popyrin or British qualifier Cameron Norrie for a place in the May 24 final.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion had not won a match on clay this season after also losing his Monte Carlo opener at the start of April to Alejandro Tabilo.

A single break early in the first set enabled Djokovic to take control, but the sixth-ranked Serbian had to rally from 4-1 down in the second before putting away Arnaldi.

He said an angry outburst after dropping serve helped him reset as he won the final five games.

“I think I’m playing really, really good tennis,” said Djokovic, who was presented on court with a chocolate cake topped with sparklers after his victory.

“Today, it was a lot of tension on the court. A straight-sets win but it was much closer than maybe the score indicates.

“I was 4-1 down in the second. Somehow after that racquet breaking I didn’t lose a game and kind