Novak Djokovic marked his 38th birthday in style on Thursday, defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 6-4 to reach the Geneva Open semi-finals and continue his pursuit of a 100th career title.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion avenged last month’s Madrid Open loss to the Italian and will next face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who rallied to defeat Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (8-6) 6-4. “It’s great to be in the semi-finals again. Hopefully this year I can go at least a step further, that’s the goal,” said Djokovic, who lost to Tomas Machac in last year’s quarter-finals.
“I think I’m playing really good tennis. A straight-sets win, but it was much closer than the score indicates.”
After taking the first set, Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the second but stormed back with five consecutive games to seal the win in one hour and 40 minutes.
The former world No. 1 admitted that smashing his racket in frustration helped him reset mentally and close out the match in straight sets. “After the racquet breaking I kind of found my optimal state and balance mentally and emotionally to be able to play my best tennis when it was most needed,” Djokovic, who was presented with a birthday cake on court, said. Djokovic is bidding to become only the third man in history to win 100 ATP titles, after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).