Follow us on Google Discover Novak Djokovic may be nearing the end of his 2025 campaign…
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was last seen in action at the Six Kings Slam, where Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz.
Soon after, Djokovic withdrew from the Paris Masters, the final Masters 1000 event of the season.
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He is scheduled to return to the court at the new Hellenic Championship ATP 250 tournament in Greece, which his family runs.
Speaking in a pre-tournament press conference, Djokovic’s brother, Djordje Djokovic, has suggested if he still thinks the 38-year-old will make the trip to Athens.
Djordje Djokovic says Novak Djokovic is doing ‘everything in his power’ to be fit to play in Athens
The Hellenic Championship tournament director had this to say about Djokovic’s fitness.
“He withdrew from Paris, but he is working hard to recover. He has specific problems that worsened in Shanghai,” said Djokovic.
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“He feels good now, he is doing everything in his power to be in the best possible condition and play in Athens.
“He has said how important it is for him to play in this competition, in front of the Greek fans.
“He is a mastermind when it comes to preparation and recovery, and that is why he is the best.”
If Djokovic does compete in Athens, he will do so as the number one seed, in a strong field which includes home favorite Stefanos Tsitsipas.
SeedNameATP RankCountry1Novak Djokovic5Serbia2Karen Khachanov13Russia3Jiri Lehecka17Czechia4Jakub Mensik19Czechia5Stefanos Tsitsipas25Greece6Luciano Darderi26Italy7Brandon Nakashima32USA8Alexandre Muller44FranceTop eight seeds at the 2025 Hellenic Championship
The event was originally supposed to take place in Belgrade, Djokovic’s home city.
But why was the event moved from Serbia to Greece?
‘We were unable to overcome the difficulties’ – Djordje Djokovic on Belgrade Open relocation
Djokovic explained why he and his family made the difficult decision to move the Belgrade Open to Greece.
“We have been doing this tournament in Serbia for many years. At one point, we had to move the tournament from Belgrade to Banja Luka [Bosnia & Herzegovina],” he said.
YearTournamentSurfaceLocationChampion2009Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaNovak Djokovic2010Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaSam Querrey2011Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaNovak Djokovic2012Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaAndreas Seppi2021Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaMatteo Berrettini2021 Belgrade OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaNovak Djokovic2022Serbia OpenClayBelgrade, SerbiaAndrey Rublev2023Srspska OpenClayBanja Luka, Bosnia and HerzegovinaDusan Lajovic2024Belgrade OpenHard (Indoor)Belgrade, SerbiaDenis Shapovalov2025Hellenic ChampionshipHard (Indoor)Athens, GreeceTBDHistory of the Djokovic family-run tournament
“There are operational procedures and logistics that must meet ATP standards.
“This year, we were unable to overcome the difficulties we had for logistical reasons, and we reached the point of having to move the tournament.
“It was very difficult to do it as Serbs – I was born and raised in Belgrade. It was also very difficult, because we started organizing the event many months ago and had to throw everything away and start from scratch.”
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The 30-year-old is hopeful that tennis can return to Belgrade in the future, but intends to keep the Hellenic Championship as well.
“We believe that there is room on the tour for both Athens and Belgrade, and that is why we are fighting for it,” said Djokovic.
“Now that we are in Athens, we do not intend to let it go. We intend to keep it, and we are fighting for it every day, especially with what we have seen in the last few months in Athens, how much everyone is helping. It was not an easy thing to do, but it had to be done in order to be able to organize an ATP event.
“Because if we canceled it, we as an organization would pay fines. The best choice was Athens, and I think it will be an amazing tournament.”
The 2025 Hellenic Championship in Athens, Greece, is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 3.