Novak Djokovic rounded off preparations for the French Open by ending his long wait for a 100th career title at the Geneva Open in Switzerland. The Serb didn't have it all his own way, though, with Djokovic needing two tiebreaks to defeat Hubert Hurkacz in the final.

Djokovic becomes only the third men's player to reach triple figures for career title wins, having won his first back in 2006, defeating Hurkacz's current coach, Nicolas Massu, at the Dutch Open. But despite the historic achievement, Djokovic focused most of his post-match speech on his opponent, Hurkacz, dubbing the Pole an "inspiration".

Speaking during his on-court debrief, Djokovic, addressing Hurkacz said: "I know it's tough to have a bitter taste in the mouth, to lose the match like this. I'm sorry for that. You were definitely for most of the match a better player. But I want to give you huge credit for playing some amazing tennis this week.

"Obviously, I know how it feels to be injured with the knee. It's definitely a big challenge to come back, you managed to keep your comeback short. I wish you all the best in Paris, in London. I really enjoyed playing you, but maybe shorter matches in the future would be nice [laughing], just a bit less stress."

By this point, Hurkacz, stood next to the legendary tennis ace, was beginning to well up. Djokovic continued: "Again, thank you for being inspirational to me and all of us as a human being. Most of all, you're an amazing player, all of the Tour knows how good of a person you are. All of the people here [pointing to the crowd], who maybe don't know you too well, deserve to know how good you are and how kind and respectful you are. A credit to your family and team."

Reflecting on what would've been his first-ever win over Djokovic, Hurkacz said: "First of all, congratulations to Novak, his family, his team. One hundred tournaments, it's a lot. It's really inspiring how you present yourself on the court and off the court, it's really incredible what you have achieved so congratulations for that and what you are doing for the whole sport of tennis."

Next on Djokovic's agenda is attempting to become the first-ever men's player to reach 25 career singles Grand Slam titles, with the 38-year-old having been stuck on 24 since he won the 2023 US Open. Djokovic will start this year's French Open as the sixth seed, with Mackenzie McDonald having been drawn as his first-round opponent.

Win that and he'll be guaranteed a clash against a home crowd favourite, given the winner of Djokovic vs McDonald will play either Corentin Moutet or Clement Tabur in round two.