Novak Djokovic snaps losing streak with first clay win of 2025 in Geneva

It represents the Serb's first win of the clay-court season, after losing in his opening match at both the Monte-Carlo and Madrid Masters tournaments.

Djokovic is seeking to gain form ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, where â- if successful â- he could lift a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Additionally, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is seeking a 100th singles title this week in Geneva, a milestone only reached by Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).

"My first win this season on clay, obviously, you know, it's great to 'break the ice' in a way," Djokovic said during his on-court interview.

"It's a very demanding surface. We all know how tricky it is to play on clay, just comparing to the other surfaces, you always have to expect an extra one or two shots coming back.

"Very glad, as I said, to be able to play the best tennis when it was most needed. I think all the way through, until the last moment, I was quite focused and pleased with the level of tennis."

The former World No 1's next match against Matteo Arnaldi is an intriguing prospect. It was Arnaldi who ended Djokovic's hopes at the Madrid Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev suffered a shocking 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5) second-round loss to Alexandre Muller.

The German battled back from a break down in the third set to take the match to a tiebreak in which he led 4-2, but ultimately was outlasted by the Frenchman.

Zverev has been in poor form since reaching his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January, failing to reach a semi-final in all but one tournament.

However, he did reveal that he was severely under the weather during his match against Muller.

"For the fact that I threw up 37 times and had a fever of 39.4 degrees all night, that's actually quite okay," joked the German.

"I think there are two players in the whole world who would have taken to the court today. I'm one of them. And I'm really proud of that."

"I was two points away from winning the match. There's a lot to be said in my favour."

READ MORE: Carlos Moya denies any links to coaching Jannik Sinner