Djokovic wins 100th career title with come-from-behind victory in 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.

Since the Paris Olympics, he had lost finals at the Shanghai Masters to Jannik Sinner last year, and the Miami Masters to Jakob Mensik in March.

READ | Complete list of titles won by Novak Djokovic

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.

“I’m just grateful to clinch the 100 here,” Djokovic, who won his first title at the Dutch Open, a clay-court tournament, in Amersfoort in 2006 against Hurkacz’s coach Nicolas Massu of Chile, said in an on-court interview.

“I had to work for it, that is for sure.”

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 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.

“Hubert was probably closer to the victory the entire match than I was,” Djokovic said. “I don’t know how I broke his serve.” He is the first man in the Open Era (since 1968) to win a title in 20 different seasons.

“It’s really inspiring how you present yourself on the court, off the court. It’s just really incredible what you have achieved,” Hurkacz said.

(With inputs from AP)