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)
TT

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."



UEFA Bans Barcelona Fans from One Away Game in Champions League

Barcelona's Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal reacts during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal reacts during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
TT

UEFA Bans Barcelona Fans from One Away Game in Champions League

Barcelona's Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal reacts during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #19 Lamine Yamal reacts during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

UEFA banned Barcelona on Friday from selling tickets to fans for its next away game in the Champions League for “racism and/or other discriminatory conduct” during a game at Monaco.
The disciplinary sanction will apply on Nov. 6 when Barcelona plays at Red Star Belgrade, The Associated Press reported.
UEFA did not specify details of the misconduct during a 2-1 loss at Monaco last week in the teams’ opening game in the new format Champions League opening phase.
The ticket sales ban activated a probationary sanction UEFA ordered for Barcelona last season. In April, fans made Nazi salutes at Paris Saint-Germain in a Champions League game.
UEFA said its disciplinary judges also fined Barcelona 10,000 euros ($11,000) and ordered a new probationary sanction for a repeat offense in the next year. That will activate another ticket sales ban for one away game in a European competition.