He holds an ATP record ahead of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz but only ever won one Grand Slam match

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Novak Djokovic holds several tennis records that many fans believe will never be broken.

There aren’t too many records that Djokovic doesn’t lay claim to, having dominated the sport for many years.

Two of tennis’ youngest stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are tipped to break records, but even the most optimistic of fans recognize that it’ll be a tough ask.

Djokovic holds several records that the likes of Alcaraz will have to work hard to chase down in the coming years.

• Most Grand Slam men’s singles titles – 24
• Most weeks at ATP number one – 428
• Most Australian Open titles – 10
• Most Masters 1000 titles – 40
• Most ATP Finals titles – 7

The list doesn’t end there for the Serbian superstar, but there is one record where he falls behind to a player many tennis fans may never have heard of.

Attila Balazs: The man with the highest deciding set win % in tennis history who only won one Grand Slam match

Ahead of Djokovic, Alcaraz, Nadal, and every other player to have graced the ATP Tour, Attila Balazs holds one tennis record that may never be topped.

Winning 76.9% of his deciding sets in the sport, the Hungarian leads the pack by almost two percent, as he proved himself to be a ‘clutch’ player throughout his career.

If you were on the opposite side of the net to Balazs, and the match ticked over to a third set, you knew you were in big trouble.

Despite his incredible record, Balazs won just one match at Grand Slam level during his career, as he advanced to the second round of the French Open back in 2020.

Playing in his first main draw match at a Major, the now 36-year-old faced off against Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama.

He didn’t get to show off his deciding set prowess on this occasion, but secured the win in three sets nonetheless as he booked his place in the next round with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Next up was a tough test against perennial contender Roberto Bautista Agut, and this time Balazs wasn’t quite as successful as he lost, taking home just a handful of games.

The Hungarian never won another Grand Slam match, as he lost in the first round of his next five Major appearances.

Balazs ironically never made it to a deciding set at Grand Slam level, only making it to the fourth set once, when he lost to Roberto Carballes Baena in Australia one year later.

He may not have enjoyed the most success at the biggest tournaments, but that’s not to say that Balazs didn’t have his moments on the ATP Tour.

In 2012, the former world number 76 reached the semi-finals in Bucharest as a qualifier, before losing to 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini.

He then suffered a dull spell in his career, playing just a handful of matches between 2013 and 2016, before he found his best form during his latter years.

Always a fighter on the court, Balazs produced a memorable moment in the second round of his home Hungarian Open back in 2019, when he won an excellent point against John Millman.

As was so often the case, Balazs went on to take the third and deciding set against Millman, to advance to the Hungarian Open quarter finals.

The Hungarian reached just one ATP final during his career, at the 2019 Croatian Open, where he fell to Dusan Lajovic in straight sets.

It was the closest he came to silverware on the ATP Tour, and Balazs will no doubt have hoped to take Lajovic to a decider, knowing that with his record, victory would then have become somewhat of a formality.

Balazs retired from tennis in 2024 having reached a career-high of 76th in the world, winning just the one Grand Slam main draw match.

His record, however, remains in tact, and no-one can take that away from him, at least for now…

Kei Nishikori improves his deciding set record with Cameron Norrie win in Hong Kong

One man that does stand half a chance of breaking Balazs record is Kei Nishikori, who may be one of the biggest fighters the sport has ever seen.

Having struggled with injury for several years, the Japanese star underwent hip surgery in 2022, before making his return on the Challenger Tour a year later.

Since then the former US Open finalist has been building confidence back up, and is currently enjoying one of his greatest weeks since his injury comeback in Hong Kong.

Having beaten Karen Khachanov in a deciding set in the last 16, Nishikori beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, to book his place in the last four.

His wins this week were his 152nd and 153rd in deciding sets, as he extended his advantage over Djokovic in the list of deciding set win %, rising to 73%.

Only time will tell if Nishikori can extend his winning record in deciding sets to leapfrog Balazs, but he’ll no doubt be hoping to get another win under his belt in the Hong Kong Open semi-finals against Juncheng Shang on January 4.