Djokovic Eager to Regain Form Ahead of French Open Defense 

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic reacts during a press conference on the eve of his first match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tennis tournament, in Geneva, on May 21, 2024. (AFP)
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic reacts during a press conference on the eve of his first match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tennis tournament, in Geneva, on May 21, 2024. (AFP)
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Djokovic Eager to Regain Form Ahead of French Open Defense 

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic reacts during a press conference on the eve of his first match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tennis tournament, in Geneva, on May 21, 2024. (AFP)
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic reacts during a press conference on the eve of his first match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open tennis tournament, in Geneva, on May 21, 2024. (AFP)

World number one Novak Djokovic is hoping to get a few matches under his belt at this week's Geneva Open ahead of his title defense at Roland Garros, after recovering from a freak injury he suffered this month.

Djokovic has struggled this season and has yet to win a tournament in 2024.

The 24-times Grand Slam champion's preparations for the French Open have been far from ideal, beginning with a loss to Casper Ruud in the Monte Carlo semi-finals.

He then opted to skip the Madrid Open before losing in the third round of the Italian Open, two days after he was hit on the head by a fan's water bottle while signing autographs.

The Serbian, who said he felt out of sorts during his 6-2 6-3 loss to Alejandro Tabilo, told reporters on Tuesday: "The head is good. All is well. I've trained for over a week and I'm feeling fine.

"I've dedicated quite a bit of time with my new fitness coach to build the endurance, to build physical strength and capabilities that I need in order to play a best-of-five Grand Slam on the physically most demanding surface, which is clay.

"So, hopefully, I'm going to get more than one match here in Geneva, that's the goal and then let's see what happens in Paris."

In his first match in Geneva on Wednesday, Djokovic will face German Yannick Hanfmann, who beat three-times Grand Slam champion Andy Murray earlier in the tournament.

"The reason why I chose to come and play is because I feel like, at this moment, there is no better practice for me than match play," Djokovic said.

"I feel like I need more matches, even if it's one match, two matches, three, four hopefully. It's good for me, because that's the way for me to try to find that kind of form that I need for Roland Garros."



FIFA Suspends Argentina Goalkeeper for 2 Matches in World Cup Qualifying

Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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FIFA Suspends Argentina Goalkeeper for 2 Matches in World Cup Qualifying

Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez holds a ball while warming up prior to a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Metropolitano Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Argentina's soccer association (AFA) said on Friday that FIFA suspended goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez for two matches of South American World Cup qualifying in October.
The decision rules out the 32-year-old from official games in the round-robin competition against Venezuela and Bolivia on Oct. 10 and 15.
AFA said in a statement that FIFA's disciplinary commission sanctioned Martínez due to incidents in two World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Colombia earlier this month. The soccer body did not describe which incidents led to the punishment, The Associated Press reported.
Martínez made an obscene gesture after his team's 3-0 win against Chile by holding the Copa America trophy close to his genitals, as he did after the South American team lifted the World Cup title in Qatar in the end of 2022.
Later, he slapped a local cameraman after Argentina's 2-1 defeat against Colombia in Barranquilla.
Argentina's soccer body said it “absolutely disagrees” with FIFA's decision.
Argentina leads South American World Cup qualifying with 18 points after eight games, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15).