Djokovic celebrates 38th birthday with win over Arnaldi and smashed racket at Geneva Open

Switzerland Tennis Geneva

GENEVA (AP) — Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals at the Geneva Open on his 38th birthday Thursday, beating the opponent who eliminated him at the Madrid Masters last month.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns a ball to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy during their quarterfinal match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Djokovic rallied strongly in the second set for a 6-4, 6-4 win over 39th-ranked Matteo Arnaldi in their quarterfinals match.

The second-seeded Djokovic had smashed his racket into the ground behind the baseline after his serve was broken to trail 3-1 in the second set, when he sent a backhand long.

“I’m sorry for the racket, it’s not a good example particularly for the young ones,” Djokovic told the crowd in French in an on-court interview. “Thank for your support. I know that with the cold temperatures it’s not easy to stay here.”

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a ball to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy during their quarter-final match, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

At 4-1 down, and after seeming to strain his right knee stretching for a shot, Djokovic reeled off five straight games for victory.

He clinched his first match-point chance when Arnaldi hit a wild forehand from behind the baseline.

Italy's Matteo Arnaldi returns the ball to Serbia's Novak Djokovic, during their quarter-final match, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

“It was much closer than maybe the scoring indicates,” Djokovic said.

United States' Taylor Fritz hits a return to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz during a quarterfinals match at the Geneva Open tennis tournament, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

On a chilly and rainy day that was tough for higher-ranked players, top-seeded Taylor Fritz lost to sixth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-6 (5), and fourth-seeded Karen Khachanov lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to 128th-ranked Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner.

Djokovic’s semifinal opponent Friday will be the winner of the late match between Alexei Popyrin, the fifth-seeded Australian, and another qualifier, Cameron Norrie.

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