Novak Djokovic secured his place in the Geneva semifinals on Thursday, moving within two matches of his first title of 2024 just days before he begins his French Open title defense. Djokovic overcame a challenging first set against Tallon Griekspoor, eventually winning 7-5, 6-1 in 77 minutes at the Parc des Eaux-Vives.
Griekspoor, the Dutch world No. 27 and sixth seed in the 28-man Geneva tournament, had three set points against Djokovic in the opening set. This tournament serves as the final warm-up before the second Grand Slam of the season on the Paris clay. Reflecting on the match, Djokovic acknowledged that the first set could have easily gone in Griekspoor's favor, praising his opponent's play and noting that crucial serves helped him turn the tide and dominate the second set.
Earlier on Thursday, Griekspoor completed his rain-delayed second-round match against Denis Shapovalov, defeating the Canadian 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Djokovic will face Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in Friday's semifinals. Machac, ranked No. 44 in the world, is appearing in his first ATP tour semifinal after defeating 19-year-old Alex Michelsen of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in their quarterfinal.
The second semifinal on Friday will feature Norwegian second seed Casper Ruud against Italy's in-form Flavio Cobolli. Ruud, world No. 7 and runner-up in the last two French Open finals, overcame Argentinian fifth seed Sebastian Baez in a tough match, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Cobolli, enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 56, advanced by defeating Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, following an earlier victory over US fourth seed Ben Shelton in the second round.
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