Novak Djokovic became the oldest champion on the ATP Tour when the 38-year-old fought back to beat Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the Hellenic Championship on Saturday, lifting his 101st title on the ATP Tour.<\/p>\n
In a marathon encounter that lasted one minute shy of three hours between the top seeds, Djokovic<\/a> dropped a set against Musetti<\/a> on a hard court for the first time as the Italian battled to win the match and seal his place at the ATP Finals in Turin.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The drama reached fever pitch in the decider when an exhausted Djokovic was broken serving for the title at 5-4.<\/p>\n 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 hard court title.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n ‘Gruelling match’<\/p>\n “Incredible battle. It’s just, I don’t know, three hours… a gruelling match physically, super demanding. Lorenzo played really well,” Djokovic said while catching his breath.<\/p>\n “It could have been anybody’s game, anybody’s match. So congrats to him for an amazing performance, and I’m just very proud of myself to get through this one.”<\/p>\n Djokovic is now two titles behind Federer in the ATP Tour’s all-time list while Jimmy Connors leads the way with 109.<\/p>\n The result saw Musetti lose out on the last ATP Finals spot, allowing Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime<\/a> to qualify for the tournament in Turin.<\/p>\n “Novak, every time I share the court with you, I take it as a lesson,” said the humbled Italian.<\/p>\n Djokovic now turns his attention to the ATP Finals, where he is set to play his first match on Monday. The Serbian is in the same group as Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, Taylor Fritz<\/a> and Alex de Minaur<\/a>.<\/p>\n