Novak Djokovic will defend his French Open title in Paris, but he remains trophyless this season after falling in the Geneva Open quarterfinals on Friday. Tomas Machac defeated Djokovic 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in the final clay-court event before Roland Garros, where the main competition begins Sunday.
In 2024, Djokovic went 14-6 overall and 0-3 in semifinals, including a loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open. Also read: Novak Djokovic Felt Water Bottle Incident Impacted Him During Italian Open Loss
Machac, a 44th-ranked Czech player, converted his first match-point opportunity on Djokovic’s serve, winning when the top-ranked Serb pushed a backhand long.
It was the fifth time Djokovic’s service was broken, and he committed 27 unforced errors. “If you play against Novak, you just hope and try to play your best and see how it looks,” Tomas Machac said in an on-court interview.
Djokovic cordially met Machac at the net and smiled as he walked off the court, acknowledging the crowd. Machac will face either Casper Ruud or Flavio Cobolli, two-time Geneva champions, in the final on Saturday. Also read: Jannik Sinner To Play In French Open only if 100% fit