Geneva Open: Djokovic Rebounds from Madrid Loss, Advances to Semifinals

On Thursday, May 22, Novak Djokovic secured a spot in the semi-finals of the 2025 Geneva Open after defeating Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets. The match lasted only one hour and thirty-nine minutes as the twenty-four-time Grand Slam winner beat his Italian adversary 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court.

The victory was also a satisfying form of payback for Djokovic.

who had been defeated by Arnaldi at the Madrid Open

Earlier this year, that match represented Djokovic’s fourth early round loss in his last five tournaments of 2025. Interestingly, the victory in Geneva occurred on what would have been Djokovic’s 38th birthday.

At the start of the first set, Djokovic seized an immediate break to take a 2-1 lead and maintained control thereafter. Nonetheless, the second set presented greater difficulty. Arnaldi managed to secure an early break, taking a 3-1 lead, and further extended this with another game for a 4-1 advantage, seeming ready to push into a decisive final set.

However, Djokovic countered in his signature style, rattling off five successive games to claim the set and secure victory. Regardless of committing two double faults, the top-ranked Serb excelled on second serves, converting 78 percent of them (14 out of 18) versus Arnaldi’s 43 percent (9 out of 21).

Up next, Djokovic will go head-to-head with Cameron Norrie in the semifinal. Norrie secured his spot by beating Australia’s Alexei Popyrin with scores of 7-6(6) and 6-4. With this progress, Djokovic is merely two victories shy of clinching his 100th ATP title, having last lifted the trophy at the 2023 US Open.

Currently, without a coach

following his split from Andy Murray

Earlier this month, Djokovic made his comeback after a short break at the Rome Masters.

As reported earlier this week, the draw for the French Open was unveiled on Thursday. In the opening round, Novak Djokovic will go up against Mackenzie McDonald. It’s worth noting that McDonald previously beat Rafael Nadal—who withdrew from tennis following his loss during the Davis Cup match versus the Netherlands in 2023—at the Australian Open.