Andy Murray could have played against Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Geneva Open, but Yannick Hanfmann denied the clash.
Hanfmann looks like a nice guy, but he wasn't very nice to tennis fans because he denied a showdown between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Obviously, the German doesn't care about any of that because for him there was money and ATP points at stake.
Murray didn't play a very good match, which was a bit upsetting because the conditions in Geneva technically do favour his style of play. Unfortunately, the conditions also favour Hanfmann's style of play, and the German was simply better.
The opening set was a huge battle that lasted almost an hour, and Hanfmann only found solutions late. The German found his first break points at 4-4, but Murray saved them. The German would break not long after that to take a 6-5 lead and, after that, cruised to a 7-5 finish.
Both played well from the baseline, but Hanfmann was very impressive, with 15 winners and only 3 unforced errors. He also served much better than Murray, which was a big problem for the Brit. He needed the serve to minimize his opponent's chances, and he couldn't do that.
Things didn't go that well in the second set because Murray served a bit better, but he didn't play that well from the baseline. Murray got broken twice in the second set as Hanfmann was just too strong, hitting 21 winners in 17 games up until that point.
The match was suspended at 4-1 in the second set due to rain and continued the following day, with Hanfmann easily finishing off the match 7-5, 6-2. It was not the best match for Murray, but it was important for him to play at least one match before the Roland Garros.
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