Novak Djokovic moved one win away from his 100th ATP Tour-level singles title with a hard-fought victory against Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals at the Geneva Open.
Djokovic, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday, is bidding to become just the third man in the Open era – after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer – to win 100 ATP titles.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion took a step closer to that milestone with a resilient 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 win over Norrie.
Djokovic, who has not won a title since claiming Olympic gold in Paris last summer, will face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in Saturday’s final.
“It was the toughest match of tournament for me so far, for sure,” the world number six said in his on-court interview.
Playing in his first semi-final of the season, Norrie won just two points on Djokovic’s serve in the first set as the Serb raced through the opener.
It was the Briton, however, who took control in the second set, challenging Djokovic’s serve for the first time to move 4-1 in front.
A double fault by Djokovic at 5-2 brought up a set point for Norrie, but he missed his chance and allowed Djokovic to break back and level the set at 5-5.
The world number 90 redeemed himself in a cagey tie-break, saving a match point before an unforced error from Djokovic took the last-four tie to a deciding set.
Djokovic reasserted his dominance by grabbing the first three games of the third set – a gap that Norrie was unable to close as he was broken again to allow Djokovic to serve out the victory after two hours and 15 minutes.
“I’m really glad how I regrouped in the third and played the best set of the tournament,” added Djokovic, who is playing in his first event since splitting from coach Andy Murray.
“It means a lot [to reach the final]. So let’s go for a title.”
It has been a disappointing clay-court season for Djokovic, who suffered immediate exits in Madrid and Monte Carlo.
However, an ATP 250 title in Geneva could be the perfect confidence booster before the French Open, where he will be chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round at Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday.
