Novak Djokovic clinched the 101st title of his career after winning the Athens Open on Saturday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was made to work hard by second seed Lorenzo Musetti, but ultimately emerged victorious by a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Djokovic had been expected to participate in his 17th ATP Tour Finals this week. However, following his triumph in Athens, Djokovic withdrew from the event, citing a shoulder injury as the reason.
Djokovic, who has been described as having the best backhand in tennis history, must win two more titles on the ATP Tour to catch Roger Federer, who won 103 titles during his career.
The Serb must win nine more if he wishes to usurp Jimmy Connors, who holds the record for the most men’s singles tournament titles in the Open Era.
However, Djokovic’s victory in Athens did see him usurp Federer in another statistical area.
Novak Djokovic has won the most ATP titles on hard courts
On Saturday, Novak Djokovic usurped Roger Federer’s record for the most triumphs at ATP hard-court events.
Djokovic’s victory in Athens raised his total to 72, one ahead of Federer, who won 71 ATP hard-court events during his career.
As evidenced by this statistic, Djokovic is undoubtedly the best hard-court player in men’s tennis history.
The Serbian star has won 14 of his 24 Grand Slam titles on hard courts – 10 at the Australian Open and four at the US Open.
Djokovic is still searching for a 25th Grand Slam triumph: one that would see him go one ahead of Margaret Court’s total [24].
Djokovic will hope he can produce his best form at the 2026 Australian Open and win his first Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open.
Novak Djokovic’s first hard-court ATP title
In 2006, Novak Djokovic won his first hard-court ATP title at the Metz Open.
Djokovic, seeded third, defeated Nicolas Mahut, Daniele Bracciali and Tobias Clemens to reach the semi-finals, where he defeated Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
In the final, Djokovic beat three-time doubles Grand Slam champion Jurgen Melzer, who also reached a career high of world number eight in singles. Djokovic defeated Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Djokovic had won his first ATP Tour title earlier that year, at the Amersfoort Open in the Netherlands.
