Geneva – Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals at the Geneva Open on Thursday on his 38th birthday, defeating an opponent who eliminated him at the Madrid Masters last month.
Djokovic came together strongly in the second set with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at 39th place Matteo Arnald in the quarterfinal match.
Second seed Djokovic broke his racket into the ground behind the baseline after his serve broke 3-1 in the second set as his serve sent a long backhand.
“Sorry for the racket, that’s not a good example, especially for young people,” Djokovic told the crowd in French in an interview on the court. “Thank you for your support. I know that staying here in cold temperatures is not easy.”
After downing 4-1 and looking tensed in his right knee and stretched out for a shot, Djokovic rolled out five straight games for the win.
He closed out his first match point chance when Arnardo hit a wild forehand from behind the baseline.
“It was much closer than the scoring showed,” Djokovic said.
On a cold, rainy day that was tough for the high-ranking player, top-seeded Taylor Fritz lost sixth-seeded Hubert Halkach 6-3, 7-6 (5) and fourth-seeded Karen Kachanoff to 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to 128th Austrian qualifier Sebastian of Sebastian 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to 6-4 to 4-4 to 6-4.
Djokovic’s semi-final opponent will be the winner of a second half match between fifth Australian Alexei Popilin and another qualifier, Cameron Nolly, on Friday.