Novak Djokovic captured his second ATP title of the year
The Serbian won 4-6 6-3 7-5 in just over three hours
Lorenzo Musetti has booked his place in ATP Finals as Novak Djokovic pulled out
Novak Djokovic captured his second ATP title of the year after a dramatic victory over Lorenzo Musetti in the Athens Open final.
The Serbian won 4-6 6-3 7-5 in just over three hours, with the deciding set featuring 13 break points and five breaks of serve and lasting 89 minutes as Djokovic secured the 101st title of his professional career.
Musetti started strong when he broke Djokovic's serve early in the first set, and despite failing to convert another opportunity in the following game, the Italian went on to take the opening set with relative ease.
But Djokovic forced a deciding set after converting a crucial break point in the eighth game of the second. Neither player gave away much in their service games prior to Djokovic's break, but the former world number one also had to save a break point of his own before clinching the set.
Djokovic managed to get an early break of serve in the third, but it was a nail-biting set as there were two back-to-back exchanges before Djokovic served to love to secure victory in Greece.
Musetti needed to win the showpiece to leapfrog Felix Auger-Aliassime and book his place in the ATP Finals, but both will now compete in Turin regardless, as Djokovic withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury shortly after celebrating this victory.
While Djokovic won his 101st major trophy, 19-year-old Learner Tien picked up the very first of his ATP career as he defeated Cameron Norrie in the Moselle Open in Metz.
It was another close contest in this match, with the American winning 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) to become the first teenager from the United States to win an ATP title since Andy Roddick (19) in 2002.
Data Debrief: Djokovic takes outright hard-court record
Djokovic brought up his 101st career title, 72 of which have come on hard courts. It means the Serb now has the outright most title wins on the surface, moving clear of Roger Federer's 71.
He is the first winner of the tournament in Athens, while he also becomes the oldest winner of an ATP tournament at 38 years and five months old.
