Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud remain on a collision course for a final showdown at the ATP 250 in Geneva. Standing in their ways on semifinal Friday are Tomas Machac and Flavio Cobolli, respectively.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Tomas Machac
Djokovic has not exactly been dominant so far at the Gonet Geneva Open, but he has done enough to reach the semifinals without dropping a set. The top-ranked Serb saved 10 of 11 break points to beat Yannick Hanfmann in round two before fighting off four set points–including from 0-40 down at 4-5–on the way to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Tallon Griekspoor.
Up next for Djokovic on Friday is a second meeting with Machac, who was surprisingly competitive in their first encounter. In round one of the 2023 Dubai tournament, the Czech pushed Djokovic to a third-set tiebreaker before succumbing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1). Machac is now in the midst of his best season on tour, with a 15-7 ATP-level record that includes a quarterfinal run in Miami and wins this week over Jack Draper, Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, and Alex Michelsen. The world No. 44 is playing well, but Djokovic has not used up too much energy so far in Geneva and should be inspired to get a couple more matches under his belt in advance of the French Open.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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Flavio Cobolli vs. (2) Casper Ruud
Like Djokovic, Ruud has bigger fish to fry at the upcoming French Open. And to say that it is an important Grand Slam for the seventh-ranked Norwegian would be a gross understatement. He has finished runner-up at each of the last two French Opens, meaning he has another 1000 points to defending on the immediate horizon. After requiring more than two hours to get past Sebastian Baez 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and having also needed three sets against Sebastian Ofner in round two, it’s hard to see why Ruud needs more matches in Geneva.
With Cobolli on the other side of the net, anything less than Ruud’s best could send him on his way to Paris. Like Machac, Cobolli is enjoying a breakthrough 2024 campaign. The 22-year-old Italian has earned 15 of his 21 main-tour match victories this season, including three in Geneva at the expense of Aslan Karatsev, Ben Shelton, and Alexander Shevchenko. Cobolli is in stellar form and looks poised to take advantage of an opponent who may not be entirely there both mentally and physically.
Pick: Cobolli in 3
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WWW?
I know Mahac has had some good results as of late but that was not a “true” Novak upset… after losing his way in the first he completely demolished him in the second. Think he had an injury or maybe checked out mentally in the third…
Interesting results in Geneva and Lyon. Perhaps everyone is keeping their powder dry before RG?
Not really, most of these were the correct result.
Ruud and Etcheverry are probably the ones defying the odds slightly.
Machac can return serve and doesn’t choke on break points.