Novak Djokovic Makes History, Breaks Roger Federer's Hard Court Men's Titles Record
Novak Djokovic became the all-time men's tennis leader in career hard-court titles on Saturday.Djokovic came from behind to beat Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the Hellenic Championship final in Athens, Greece, giving him the 72nd hard-court tournament title of his career, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).That broke a tie with Roger Federer, who previously shared the record of 71 hard-court titles with Djokovic.Saturday's win also marked the 101st overall title of Djokovic's career, which is the 11th-most in men's tennis history. He is now just two tournament titles away from tying Federer for 10th with 103.Djokovic, 38, is already the holder of several records related to Grand Slam tournaments.He has the most Grand Slam titles (24), finals appearances (37), semifinals appearances (53) and quarterfinals appearances (64) in history.Fourteen of those Grand Slam titles came on hard courts, including a record 10 at the Australian Open.Djokovic has now gone two consecutive seasons without adding to his Grand Slam title total, but he remains one of the best players in men's tennis.He was knocked out in the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this year after reaching one final in 2024. Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in both 2021 and 2023.Djokovic celebrated joyously after Saturday's win and made it clear how much it meant to him afterward, telling reporters, "An incredible battle. Three hours of a grueling match, physically. ... I'm just very proud of myself to get through this one."Nole's win appeared to knock Musetti out of the eight-man field for the ATP Finals since Musetti needed to win the Hellenic Championship tournament in order to qualify over Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassime.However, Djokovic announced Saturday on Instagram following his win that he has withdrawn from the ATP Finals due to an "ongoing injury." That means Musetti will replace him in the field.
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