Let’s face it, watching Novak Djokovic win sometimes feels less like a competitive sporting event and more like watching a highly efficient, perfectly oiled Swiss clock tick over. You know what the result is going to be, but you watch anyway, mainly to marvel at the mechanics.
Well, in Athens at the inaugural Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship, the clock just hit a new milestone. Djokovic, who has recently swapped Belgrade for the Athenian sunshine, claimed his 200th career indoor victory, grinding down Portugal’s Nuno Borges 7-6(1), 6-4 in a match that was, shall we say, a grind.
It seems even in his new home, where his brother Djordje is the tournament director (a delightful piece of nepotism that keeps it all in the family), Novak can’t resist setting new benchmarks.
The Art of the Reluctant Victory
The match lasted an hour and 44 minutes a decent shift for the 38 year old and proved slightly stickier than the straight sets scoreline suggests. Top seeds are meant to breeze through, but Borges, bless him, decided to turn the quarter final into a proper scrap.
Djokovic had to fight off break points and couldn’t convert his own until the second set, leading one to believe the former World No. 1 might have been distracted by thoughts of proper Greek souvlaki or perhaps the logistics of unpacking all those Grand Slam trophies in his new villa.
However, the moment he was truly tested, the machine kicked into gear. After a tight first set, Djokovic dominated the tiebreak 7-1. Not content with simply winning, the 24-time Grand Slam champion then raced courtside to high five the Greek crowd. It was classic Djokovic: a ruthless display of dominance immediately followed by a surprising burst of public affection. It’s the kind of charming whiplash only he can deliver.
The Unbreakable Rule of the First Set
The most terrifying statistic to emerge from this victory isn’t the 200 indoor wins (which makes him the first active player to hit the double century, by the way) but this one: Djokovic is now 29-0 in 2025 after winning the first set.
In a sport where momentum is everything, this isn’t just a streak; it’s an iron law of tennis. If you lose the first set to Novak Djokovic this season, you might as well pack your bags and check the flight times. That level of psychological and physical resilience is what separates the GOAT contender from, well, everyone else.
The win also takes the Serb to his 199th tour level semi final, inching closer to Roger Federer’s all time record of 211. He’s relentlessly hoovering up records like a particularly tidy vacuum cleaner, chasing down titles (now aiming for his 101st, having joined Connors and Federer in the 100+ club earlier this year).
Next up is German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, who clearly didn’t get the memo about avoiding upsets.
With his spot already secured at next week’s ATP Finals in Turin where he’s been placed in the aptly named ‘Jimmy Connors Group’ alongside names like Carlos Alcaraz this Athens outing is essentially a very high stakes, competitive warm-up in his newly adopted backyard.
He’s not just breaking records; he’s celebrating them on his home turf. And for anyone still doubting the man’s longevity, remember this: the only thing more certain than Djokovic winning after the first set is the inevitability of him winning… eventually.
Related Topics: Tennis
