GENEVA: Novak Djokovic clinched his 100th career title as he beat Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-6 (2) in three hours and five minutes on clay at the Geneva Open final on Saturday.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, had not won a tournament since his maiden Olympic gold medal in Paris last year while his last tour-level title had come at the ATP Finals in 2023.
The Serbian had won his first title at the Dutch Open, a clay-court tournament, in Amersfoort in 2006 when he beat Chilean Nicolas Massu, who is Hurkacz’s coach.
It looked like Djokovic’s wait for the 100th title would continue as he was down 2-4 in the final set before he made a comeback to beat the big-serving Pole in the final of the ATP 250 event on the eve of the French Open. The Serbian maintained a perfect record against the 28-year-old Hurkacz with his eighth win in as many meetings.
Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, is only the third man in history to win 100 titles after Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109).
Overall, he is the sixth player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the three-digit mark. Martina Navratilova (167), Chris Evert (157) and Steffi Graf (107) are the only three women with more than 100 titles. Agencies
MOST TITLES IN MEN’S OPEN ERA:
Jimmy Connors (USA) - 109
Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 103
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 100
Ivan Lendl (Czechia) - 94
Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 92
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