Novak Djokovic played his first match at the 2024 Geneva Open, and he played very well, beating Yannick Hanfmann.
His opponent was Hanfmann, a tricky player who is very capable on clay, as his win over Andy Murray demonstrated. His style of play certainly suits the conditions in Geneva well.
He has a powerful serve and generally really solid baseline play, but he was facing the 24-time major winner, who basically has an antidote to whatever his opponent can do on a tennis court.
The start of the match was good for both players, but ultimately, Djokovic was able to find a breakthrough midway through the opening set. The match was suspended in the first set due to rain, but it didn't really impact Djokovic that much, as he won the opening set 6-3 after the players returned to the court.
It was far from a perfect set for Djokovic, who saved seven break points in that opening set. That's more break points than he had on the German's serve, but he didn't get broken, and that ultimately mattered.
Hanfmann actually outhit the Serbian player in the opening set, but he also made more errors, with quite a few of them coming on the break points.
The second set opened well for Hanfmann, who took a 3-0 lead. Djokovic didn't give up, and he immediately made it 3-3. He then broke Hanfmann once more to take a 5-3 lead, and that was a superb run from him, as he won five games in a row.
The final score was 6-3, 6-3, which was a good win for Djokovic. He looked miles better than in Rome last week, and it's a positive sign as he continues his preparation for the Roland Garros.
He will want to keep it up in the coming rounds, but this was a good win to start the tournament with, albeit not perfect, as he did allow 10 break points in the match.