Novak Djokovic celebrated his 37th birthday Wednesday with his 1,100th tour-level victory, becoming just the third player in the Open Era to reach the milestone.
The top-seeded Serbian defeated Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Gonet Geneva Open in Switzerland. He joined longtime rival Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors in the 1,100 club.
Djokovic, who saved 10 of 11 break points, trailed 3-0 in the second set before storming to victory in 89 minutes. He will next meet Canada’s Denis Shapovalov or No. 6 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway rallied to take the 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 decision against Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. Alex Michelsen knocked out No. 3 Taylor Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. No. 5 Sebastian Baez of Argentina rolled 6-3, 6-0 over Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena. Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic outlasted Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.
Open Parc
Germany’s Dominik Koepfer ousted top-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals in Lyon, France.
Koepfer struck 28 winners and just 11 unforced errors and broke Humbert’s serve four times in a match that lasted just over two hours. Up next for Koepfer is No. 6 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, who led 7-5, 3-0 when Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild was forced to retire.
On a day of upsets, Italy’s Luciano Darderi beat No. 3 seed Adrian Mannarino of France 7-6 (4), 6-3 while France’s Hugo Gaston eliminated No. 4 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 and fellow Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech knocked out No. 5 Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7), 6-4.
–Field Level Media
