“Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic one last time”; “Harder than Rafael Nadal's draw at US Open 2017 & 2019” – Fans react to Serb’s Geneva Open 2024 draw

Novak Djokovic has been handed out his draw at the 2024 Geneva Open. He has received a bye in the first round and is likely to face old foe Andy Murray in the second, a matchup tennis fans have been hoping to witness for the one last time before the Brit bids farewell.

Djokovic has seen better days as he remains trophyless in the first five months of the 2024 season. He most recently crashed out of the Italian Open with an upset loss to eventual semifinalist Alejandro Tabilo in the third round.

Hence, he has decided to compete at the ATP 250 event in Geneva in a bid to get more court time under his belt before the French Open begins. He has entered the draw as a wildcard and is seeded first. After having received a bye in the first, the Serb awaits the winner of the first-round face-off between Andy Murray and Yannick Hanfmann.

As per the draw, the 24-time Grand Slam champion's path to the trophy would include one battle against Tallon Griekspoor/Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals, one against Taylor Fritz/Jack Draper in the semifinals, and the final against Casper Ruud/Sebastian Baez/Ben Shelton.

A few of the fans on X (formerly Twitter) believe the Serb has on his hands a task tougher than Rafael Nadal did at the US Open in 2017 and 2019.

"This is harder than Claydal's [Rafael Nadal's] draw at USO17 and USO19," a fan wrote.

At the US Open in 2017, Nadal clinched the title with wins over the likes of Dusan Lajovic, Taro Daniel, Leonardo Mayer, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Andrey Rublev, Juan Martin del Potro, and Kevin Anderson. Notably, he didn't face a seeded opponent until the del Potro matchup in the semifinals.

In 2019, the Spaniard went past opponents, including John Millman, Thanasi Kokkinakis (walkover), Chung Hyeon, Marin Cilic, Diego Schwartzman, Matteo Berrettini, and Daniil Medvedev.

A different section of fans is hoping for Murray to go past Hanfmann so that he and Djokovic can play against each other for the 37th and probably the last time.

"Murray v Djokovic one last time," a fan wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

"What a freaking draw.... Fingers crossed... Andy & Nole can motivate each other," a fan stated.

"Harder draw than Nadal’s Madrid and Rome," stated another.

"I wanna see a Murray vs Djokovic match," a fan wished.

"Need that Murray match badly," a fan commented.

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Novak Djokovic leads Andy Murray 25-11 in head-to-head

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Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have locked horns on 36 occasions, with the Serb winning 25 matches while the Brit triumphed in 11.

Notably, 19 of those 36 duels have been finals of different tournaments over the years and the Serb enjoys an 11-8 advantage in them.

Djokovic and Murray first locked horns in the pre-quarterfinals of the Madrid Open in 2006, where the Serb won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory. The two last met on tour for the title clash at the 2017 Qatar Open where the result went the 24-time Grand Slam champion's way again.

They were scheduled to face off in the third round of the Madrid Open in 2022 but Andy Murray decided to pull out due to illness.