Djokovic gets first win on clay this year by beating Fucsovics at Geneva Open

GENEVA (AP) — Novak Djokovic finally won a match on clay this season, beating Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the rainy Geneva Open on Wednesday.

Djokovic lost his two previous matches on clay in the European spring season, and his next opponent at the last warmup event for the French Open is one of those players who already beat him.

In the quarterfinals scheduled Thursday, the second-seeded Djokovic will play Matteo Arnaldi who earlier advanced past Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (3). Arnaldi beat Djokovic in two sets at the Madrid Masters.

“My first win this season on clay obviously, it’s great to break the ice in a way. It’s a very demanding surface,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview.

He faced no break-point chances, landed 73% of his first serves and clinched with a backhand winner on his second match-point chance,

“It helps if you have a good serve and today I think that was my strongest shot,” Djokovic said.

The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion is seeking his 100th career title on the ATP Tour.

Geneva is a popular stop with players seeking more match practice before Roland Garros and No. 4-ranked Taylor Fritz had lost his opening match at the Rome Masters this month.

Fritz, top-seeded this week, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Quentin Halys of France.

He next plays sixth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who also won in two sets against a Frenchman, beating Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-1.

Fourth-seeded Karen Khachanov advanced because Kei Nishikori retired in the second set of their match held over from Tuesday because of the weather. Khachanov next meets Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner, who beat Nuno Borges 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts after winning the round of 16 agaist Quentin Halys of France, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis Tournament, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. returns a ball to Quentin Halys of France during the round of 16, at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis Tournament, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns a ball to Hungary's Marton Fucsovics during the round of 16 match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis Tournament, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns a ball to Hungary's Marton Fucsovics during the round of 16 match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis Tournament, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning a game against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, during the round of 16 match at the ATP 250 Geneva Open Tennis Tournament, in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For San Antonio, the NBA Cup final was an education. A painful education.

The Spurs let an 11-point third quarter lead slip away and then some on Tuesday night, falling to the New York Knicks 124-113 in the Cup championship game.

San Antonio led 92-81 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, when Victor Wembanyama — who played off the bench once again as he works his way back from a strained left calf — connected on a deep 3-pointer.

The score the rest of the way: Knicks 43, Spurs 21. San Antonio shot 6 for 23 over those final 14 minutes. It got outrebounded 25-8 — a staggering differential. The Knicks outscored the Spurs 18-4 in the paint over that stretch, too.

All one-sided numbers, and that's how the game got away.

“It’s do-or-die, I think, out there,” said Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, who led San Antonio with 21 points off the bench. "You’ve seen the level of intensity rise up for us, and them. Obviously, they came out with the win. But for us, it's not taking anything for granted; I think that's the biggest thing. When we all go out there, we all know that we've got to play 110% in order to win things like this.”

The Knicks wound up splitting about $5 million in additional bonus money, pushing their total to $530,933 per player for winning the Cup. The Spurs had to settle — such as it is — for $212,373 each.

"I'm assuming that we're feeling pretty frustrated because we lost the game," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "I’m also feeling after 25 games in, I believe, that we’ve shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team. And we’ve also shown that we have a lot of areas of improvement. And I think that’s where we’re living today and hopefully tomorrow. We can continue to get a little bit better and minimize some of the things that we need to improve on.”

The Spurs are 18-7; Tuesday's loss doesn't factor into the record for this season. They've had four of their key players — Wembanyama, Harper, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle — together for exactly two games, those being the Cup semifinal win over Oklahoma City on Saturday and the Cup final loss to the Knicks. The only teams in the Western Conference with better records than the Spurs right now are the Thunder and Denver.

There's a lot to like, even on a night that didn't go San Antonio's way.

Wembanyama was emotional afterward, for reasons that had nothing to do with the outcome. He revealed following the game that he was struggling with news that someone close to him died earlier in the day.

When asked about the game, he indicated it would be a learning experience.

“It's the best practice for important games,” Wembanyama said. “Of course. Our focus is already on the playoffs. Playoffs are going to be the biggest time of the year, so I guess it's good that we got this experience today.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) shoots against New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) shoots against the New York Knicks during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) reacts after a dunk against the New York Knicks during the first half of the NBA Cup championship basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots the ball past New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the second half of an NBA Cup championship basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Kirby Lee/Pool Photo via AP)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, dunks the ball past New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek in the second half of an NBA Cup championship basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Kirby Lee/Pool Photo via AP)