Not many tennis players have managed to win 100 career trophies, and as of this week, there is one more name on the list. Novak Djokovic joined that exclusive list by winning the Geneva Open.
Other players won trophies as well, and the year’s second Grand Slam kicked off, all of which we breakdown below.
Champions corner
Dominating headlines last week was Novak Djokovic winning his 100th career trophy in Geneva by beating Hubert Hurkacz in the final. It wasn’t an easy win for Djokovic, who trailed in the final set by 4-2.
Djokovic was still able to turn around the match and win it to claim the trophy, which was deeply meaningful to him. Now he’s turning his attention to Roland Garros, which would be a much bigger coup if he could prevail.
In the Hamburg Open, we saw a surprise as Flavio Cobolli managed to beat Andrey Rublev in what proved to be a really disappointing finish for Rublev. The former champion did well to make the final but then couldn’t finish off things, losing to Cobolli in two simple sets.
On the women’s side, we had two tournaments—one in Rabat, Morocco, where Elena Rybakina claimed the trophy by beating Liudmila Samsonova in a very strange three-set match. In the other event, played in Strasbourg, we had Maya Joint defeating Jacqueline Cristian in two sets.
Djokovic’s 100 through the records books
Diving deeper into Djokovic’s 100th title, his victory shattered a few more records.
For one, this was the 20th consecutive year on tour where Djokovic won a trophy, which is the best mark in history. Rafael Nadal held the previous record with 19 consecutive years in which he claimed a trophy.
He’s also the player who has claimed the most ‘big titles’ since their introduction to the ATP Tour in 1990. He’s up to 72, compared to Rafael Nadal, who has 59 and is second on this list.
The Serb is now third on the Open Era list of trophies won, behind only Roger Federer, who has 103, and Jimmy Connors, who has 109. This is a record Djokovic admitted to wanting to break, but it’s looking more and more unlikely. Federer’s 103 seems much more realistic right now.
Geneva ball kids honor Djokovic
Cameras in Geneva captured a very interesting moment during the Geneva Open trophy ceremony. Ball kids at the event formed a “100” with their bodies to honor Djokovic and his 100th career trophy win.
Carlos Alcaraz captures the hearts of fans
A video of Carlos Alcaraz shushing his team from celebrating heavily in the Rome locker room went viral on tennis Twitter, as the Spaniard wasn’t comfortable in case any of Jannik Sinner’s people were present there.
The video was heavily praised among tennis fans, who love this humble side of Alcaraz. Some have compared him to a similarly humble Nadal and the way he went about things. Fans are also delighted to see the respectable rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz, as it might be the rivalry that powers the sport in the years to come.
French Open begins
Sunday, May 25th marks the first day of this year’s French Open, and while most of the big stars weren’t in action on day one, the intensity will pick up in the coming days. Aryna Sabalenka started off the event with a big win, and some other big names like Jasmine Paolini and Qinwen Zheng were in action as well.
On the men’s side, Ben Shelton was the first player to get a chance to compete in the famous—but also infamous—night shift time slot. There will be lots of talk about that, as most players have expressed dissatisfaction with having to play that late. The American gritted his way over the line in a tough five-set win against Lorenzo Sonego.
Check our travel blog from the first days of the French Open, leading up to the main draw.
Coming up this week
Naturally, with the French Open starting on Sunday, next week will be occupied with that event. Both the men’s and women’s draws run parallel to one another, with big stars like Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic on the courts in the next few days.
By the time the week concludes, we’ll be almost halfway done with the event, so only a handful of the best players will remain in the draw. Events like this always garner surprises, so overall there will be plenty of action on the courts, drama off the courts, great tennis, and everything else.
We’ll have all of that ready for you in next week’s This Week in Tennis. See you in a week!
