BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Novak Djokovic has won his 101st title. Also, becoming the oldest champion on the ATP Tour when he fought so hard to beat Lorenzo Musetti 4-6 6-3 7-5 to win the Hellenic Championship on Saturday.
In a marathon encounter that lasted one minute away from three hours between the top seeds, Djokovic dropped a set against Musetti on a hardcourt for the first time as the Italian battled to win the match and seal his place at the ATP Finals in Turin.
However, Djokovic recovered to win the second set, showing no signs of his advancing years when he stretched at the net to play a cross-court drop shot doing the splits at full stretch that got the crowd roaring its approval.
The drama reached fever pitch in the decider when an exhausted 38-year-old Djokovic was broken serving for the title at 5-4.
However, he rallied once again to break Musetti before finding his last reserves of energy to serve out the contest and eclipse Roger Federer by claiming a record 72nd hardcourt title.
Djokovic was initially too exhausted to celebrate but, after embracing the 23-year-old Musetti, the Serbian ripped his own t-shirt as he roared in delight, Reuters reported.
Djokovic is now two titles behind Federer in the ATP Tour’s all-time list while Jimmy Connors leads the way with 109.
The result saw Musetti lose out on the last ATP Finals spot, allowing Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to qualify for the tournament in Turin.
“Novak, every time I share the court with you, I take it as a lesson,” said the humbled Italian.
Djokovic now turns his attention to the ATP Finals where he is set to play his first match on Monday. Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur are in same group as Djokovic.
