Novak Djokovic returned to the court after a terrible experience in Rome, defeating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to go to the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open, where the Serbian star hopes to gather valuable match preparation before defending his French Open title. Djokovic’s triumph marks his 1,100th career win on the ATP tour, which he accomplished on his 37th birthday. Djokovic is the third player in history to win 1,100 ATP matches, after only Jimmy Connors (1,274) and Roger Federer (1,251).

After having one of the best seasons of his career in 2023, winning three of the four major tournaments, the world number one has struggled this year. He is still looking for his first championship in 2024, and his plans to prepare well in Rome for the French Open were dashed by a straight-set loss to Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open.

Two days before his defeat, Djokovic was signing autographs following his first win when a metal bottle fell from a fan’s rucksack in the crowd and struck him in the head. Djokovic claimed to have experienced nausea, dizziness, and his head bled that night. While the symptoms appeared to subside the next day, Djokovic stated that he felt like a “completely different” player on the court during his loss to Tabilo and would seek medical tests.

Djokovic skipped the Madrid Open before Rome, so he would have had a very low match count heading into Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion. He took a wildcard into Geneva. I feel like I need more matches, even if it’s one match, two matches, three, or four hopefully. It’s good for me because that’s the way for me to try to find that kind of form that I need for Roland Garros, he stated.

Despite some problems, Djokovic seemed like himself, controlling the match till the conclusion. After closing out the first set in a thrilling, extended last game interrupted by a rain delay, Djokovic trailed 0-3 in the second set before winning six games in a row to win the match. The Swiss fans sang “Happy Birthday” to the top seed following the match before presenting him with a big cake. Djokovic will face either Denis Shapovalov or Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem’s Roland Garros career came to an end as he was defeated 6-2, 7-5 by Otto Virtanen in the second qualifying round. After the match, the 30-year-old Australian delivered a farewell speech and was presented with a commemorative trophy by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo.