Novak Djokovic will enter Roland Garros without a final appearance in 2024, as he was beaten by Tomas Machac in the 2024 Geneva Open semi-final.
Djokovic's bad play in 2024 didn't continue in the semi-final of the ATP 250 event in Geneva because, at times, he played really well. However, he was once again beaten, which will leave many wondering what his chances of actually winning Roland Garros are.
It would be naive to claim that he cared about winning this tournament as much as he will care next week in Paris, but he's still going to arrive in Paris without a final this year, and that's just not something we've seen in many years.
The stated goal for this week was to get some more match time in, and he did that by playing three matches in total. He won the first two and had a good battle in his third, but he wasn't able to win it.
Tomas Machac can be a tricky player who quite loves the conditions in Geneva, which favor aggressive play. The opening set was a strange affair, as Djokovic faced break point in his first service games, but that's not that uncommon.
He tends to start matches quite slowly. After surviving that opening game, Djokovic took a 4-1 lead after some sturdy play. What followed was him losing five games in a row to drop the set 4-6.
That was a weird development, but it seems like he was bothered by something, as he took some pills after that set. Machac, to his credit, was pretty strong, especially on Djokovic's second serve, where he dominated.
The Serbian responded incredibly, winning the next set with a bagel, 6-0, in just 30 minutes. His opponent is known as a streaky player, so it wasn't surprising that he couldn't keep up his level against world no. 1.
He bounced back pretty well in the final set, jumping out to an early lead against Djokovic, a lead that grew with another break later on.
The Czech player held that lead and won the match, sending Djokovic to Paris without a final, winning 6-4, 0-6, 6-1. Lots of questions remain.
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