Djokovic clinches his 100th career singles title at Geneva Open
Geneva (AP): Novak Djokovic finally clinched his 100th career singles title by rallying to beat Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in more than three hours to become the Geneva Open champion on Saturday.
Djokovic lost his two previous finals since his 99th title win nine months ago at the Paris Olympics at Roland-Garros.
The 100th was after a typically tough and hard-working match, two days after his 38th birthday and surrounded by his family in the Swiss city where some relatives reside.
“I'm just grateful to clinch the 100 here,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “I had to work for it, that is for sure.”
Djokovic joins tennis greats Jimmy Connors, who has a record 109 titles, and Roger Federer on 103 as the only men with a century of tournament wins in the Open era.
The three-time French Open champion heads back to Paris looking to add to his 24 Grand Slam singles titles. He has a French Open first-round match on Monday against Mackenzie McDonald of the United States.
The Serb clinched with an ace down the middle to complete a surge to victory after breaking Hurkacz's serve for the first time while trailing 4-3 in the deciding set. Djokovic took that break-point chance with a forehand cross-court winner advancing to the net on Hurkacz's sliced half-volley.
“Hubert was probably closer to the victory the entire match than I was,” Djokovic said. "I don't know how I broke his serve.”
He is the first man in the Open era to win a title in 20 different seasons.
Djokovic's 100th singles title came nearly 19 years after the first in July 2006. That also was on clay, at Amersfoort in the Netherlands, against Nicolás Massú — the Chilean who now coaches Hurkacz.
Since the Paris Olympics, Djokovic had lost finals at the Shanghai Masters to Jannik Sinner last year, and the Miami Masters to Jakob Mensik in March.
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Heatwave scorches Odisha, Jharsuguda reels under 43.6 degrees C
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Heatwave conditions scorched Odisha on Tuesday, with the IMD forecasting that hot and humid conditions would continue in parts of the state.
The IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre said Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts were likely to experience hot and humid conditions on April 22.
It also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput, among others.
On Tuesday, 18 places across Odisha recorded maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or above. The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest in the state at 43.6 degrees Celsius.
Sambalpur and Titlagarh recorded 42.5 degrees Celsius each, followed by Hirakud at 42.4 degrees, Bolangir at 42.2 degrees and Angul at 42.1 degrees.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 37.9 degrees Celsius and 38.8 degrees Celsius, respectively, with relative humidity levels remaining above 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, the state government directed all district education officers to conduct a Summer Learning Programme for students till class 8 in government schools during the summer vacation.
Officials said students would be given practice assignments along with audio-visual learning content.
Subject-wise assignment sheets have been prepared, while related digital material will be shared through school parents' WhatsApp groups using a chatbot system, they said.
