Novak Djokovic recently earned his 1,100 tour-level career win in Geneva Open.

Novak Djokovic, (in circle) Sam Querrey (via Imago)

Novak Djokovic has more to prove at the Roland Garros after a poor start to the season. The Serbian may likely be heading for the French Open with no title for the first time since 2006. However, former American veteran Sam Querrey believes he can win the clay major title, as he is good at dealing with this kind of situation.

Djokovic has been performing sub-par in 2024. His best performance this year was at the Australian Open where he reached the semifinals. The Serbian has since struggled to produce brilliant results. He has competed in two tournaments this season and is yet to reach the final of any.

At Monte Carlo, he became the favorite to win the title after reaching the semifinals but shockingly lost to Casper Ruud. He was also a favorite at the Italian Open but exited in the third round of the competition. In fact, his poor form led him to compete at the Geneva Open for the first time in his career.

Djokovic has always focused on the French Open rather than playing in any tournament a week before the major event. But, this year, he was desperate for more games, especially after his Rome disappointment. Meanwhile, ATP veteran Sam Querrey believes Novak Djokovic will defend his French Open title, as he is used to dealing with this kind of situation.

Definitely he needs a good first week to get in shape again, to get some rhythm, to get some feeling with the ball and to spend a little bit of time to suffer one of those matches where maybe he doesn’t feel great, but he needs to get through and get that confidence back. I’m counting on Novak. Of course he knows how to deal in the Slams. He’s the defending champion. He loves to play there on that Philippe Chatrier. So, I’m not worried about his form. 

Sam Querrey said in an episode of Racquet’s Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast

Meanwhile, on Sunday Djokovic will face French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening round at the French Open. He hopes to defend the Roland Garros title despite poor form.

Novak Djokovic crashed out of Geneva Open in the semi-final

Novak Djokovic was enjoying his time at the Geneva Open after claiming a last-minute wildcard into the ATP 250 tournament. The Serbian earned his 1,100th career match win on his first match beating German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic (Image via X)
The tournament organizers also celebrated his 37 birthday with a cake, which he shared with ball kids and a security officer. Yesterday, he defeated Dutch Tallon Griekspoor in a straight set to reach his third semifinals of the season.

However, Tomas Machac proved to be too strong for the Serb. Despite Djokovic bageling Machac in the second set, he was unable to see the Czech off. The final scoreline read, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in favor of Machac.