Novak Djokovic is a win away from a milestone 100th ATP title at the Gonet Geneva Open after outlasting Cameron Norrie, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday, and looks to be rounding into form just in time for Roland Garros after defeating the former world No. 8 in two hours and 13 minutes on Center Court. Awaiting him in the final will be No. 6 seed Hubert Hurkacz, who scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Ofner in the first semifinal.
Djokovic began the 2025 season with 99 titles but has struggled for consistency since standing atop the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The former world No. 1 took opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid before announcing his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic’s team since the end of last season.
Djokovic recovered from a second-set wobble to roar into his first final of the season.
Djokovic recovered from a second-set wobble to roar into his first final of the season.
Djokovic, who confirmed he is working with Dusan Vemic and assistant coach Boris Bosnjakovic, made a strong start to his Geneva campaign with back-to-back straight-sets wins over Marton Fucsovics and No. 8 seed Matteo Arnaldi, who won their match at the Mutua Madrid Open last month.
Standing between the Serb and a 143rd career ATP final was Norrie, a former BNP Paribas Open champion and Wimbledon semifinalist. The left-handed Brit is coming off a disappointing 2024 season that saw him drop out of the Top 20 for the first time since 2021, but has enjoyed a solid run through the clay swing, racking up qualifying wins to make main draws in Barcelona and Rome. In Madrid, he pulled off a three-set win over No. 26 seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round.
Djokovic led their head-to-head 4-0 coming into Friday’s match, winning their lone clay-court encounter in Rome in 2023, and made a similarly strong start in their semifinal, claiming the lone break of the opening set and serving it out to love.
RESULT
Match Replay
SF
Men’s Singles
GBR
C. Norrie
4
7
1
SRB
N. Djokovic
(2)
6
6
6
6
Norrie turned the tables on Djokovic in the second, racing out to a 5-2 lead and holding set point on Djokovic’s serve. Djokovic dug out of the deficit and broke Norrie to get back on serve, leveling the set at five games apiece.
With little to separate the pair as the set headed into a tiebreaker, Norrie saved a match point at 5-6 in the Sudden Death with a serve out wide and claimed the set after back-to-back errors from Djokovic.
Djokovic made a blistering start to the decider, winning 12 of the first 13 points en route to a 4-1 lead. Norrie sought to battle back but was undone by Djokovic’s consistency. Taking full advantage, Djokovic claimed a double-break advantage to find himself serving for a spot in the final.
An approach to net earned Djokovic a pair of match points; one last strong serve put him over the finish line and into the championship match against Hurkacz.
