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Novak Djokovic (Source: X)
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic turned 37 on Wednesday (May 22) and he celebrated the special day in style. The Serbian recorded the 1,100th win of his career by defeating Germany's Yannick Hanfmann at the 2024 Geneva Open. Djokovic, who is playing at the ATP 250 tournament for the first time in Switzerland, opened the campaign with a convincing 6-3 6-3 victory.
However, what made the champion player more ecstatic than the victory was the gesture from his fans after the match. At the end of the match, the crowd sang ‘happy birthday’ as the tournament officials presented him with a chocolate birthday cake with candles on the court.
A video of the 24 Grand Slam winner basking in happiness is going viral on social media. Djokovic lifted the cake and showed it to the crowd. He took a pinch and gave a thumbs up gesture before offering some to the ball boys and girls.
Watch the video below:
Novak Djokovic received a birthday cake in Geneva on his birthday.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 22, 2024
The crowd sang happy birthday to him.
He shared some with the ball kids and other people around the court 🥰
Happy birthday, legend. 🇷🇸🎂
pic.twitter.com/PDws4TPyMK
Very happy to win on this special day: Djokovic
The match was interrupted by rain, but that didn't stop the excitement. Djokovic made it look easy in the first set, but Hanfmann fought hard in the second. The German had a break advantage and was leading 3-0. But the Serb rallied to close out the contest in an emphatic fashion.
“The key was the birthday. My birthday probably wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t win the match,” Djokovic said after the match.
“I’m getting some really quality time on the court but also off the court. Thank-you so much for singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song. That really touched me so I’m very happy to win on this special day,” he added.
With this win, Djokovic has moved into the quarter-finals of the Geneva Open and will next face either Canada's Denis Shapovalov or Dutch sixth seed Tallon Griekspoor. Notably, the Tennis great is yet to reach a final in 2024.