Remember the days when a peak Novak Djokovic would he rip off his shirt after crazy battles, a sign of his invincibility and undying desire to make history in our sport?
Years have passed, but that fire remains.
Djokovic defeated Lorenzo Musetti in a fiery two-hour, 59-minute battle on Saturday in Athens, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, for his 101st career title. When the battle was over, he tore the shirt off his back as the crowd went wild in Athens.
What a moment for Djokovic, who becomes the oldest title winner in ATP history at 38 years and five months.
The 24-time major champion is two titles short of Roger Federer’s 103 and eight behind Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 109 ATP titles. He improved to 1163-233 lifetime with his win.
“Still at your age, you’re kicking, like me today, but every time I go on trial against you and share it with you, I take it as a lesson, so thank you for that,” Musetti told the 38-year-old during the presentation of the trophy.
Musetti could have overtaken Felix Auger-Aliassime as the final qualifier for next week’s Nitto ATP Finals with a win. Instead he will go to Turin as one of two alternatives if Djokovic decides to play.
Sky Sports has already posted that Djokovic is opting to withdraw from the ATP Finals and if that is indeed the case, both Musetti and Auger-Aliassime will qualify.
“I know it’s a hard feeling to accept right now,” Djokovic told Musetti. “If there’s anything positive to take away, it’s that your level of tennis has been outstanding all week. Especially today, I’ve honestly played with you many times on different surfaces, honestly your improvement on the hard court is amazing. Keep it up, you’re on the right track and I’m sure your future is bright.”
It was a back and forth battle that featured high quality tennis from both players. Musetti, trying to qualify for the ATP Finals and hoping to end a five-match losing streak at the ATP Finals, started the stronger, executing a break for 2-1 and making it hold in a clear opening set.
But Djokovic turned up the heat in the middle set and eventually his efforts were rewarded with a break for 5-3. He then saved a break point while serving for the set and closed it out to force a decider two points later.
There were two breaks in a topsy-turvy final set, with Djokovic leading by a break twice before being clawed back by the 23-year-old Italian. Djokovic finally converted his fourth break point in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead.
He held on to love to close out the title.
Oldest ATP Tour Champions (since the ATP Tour was created in 1990):
Novak Djokovic 381 5M 2025 Athens (eg
Gael Monfils 38 Y 4M 2025 Auckland (d. Bergs)
Roger Federer 38 Y 2 M 2019 Basel (d. de Minaur)
Novak Djokovic 38 V 2D 2025 Geneva (d. Hurkacz)
Roger Federer 37 V 10 M 2019 Halle (d. Goffin)
Feliciano Lopez 37 V 9M 2019 London/Queen’s Club (d. Simon)
