Novak Djokovic made a winning start in his return to the match court at the ATP 250 tournament in Athens.
Djokovic has recently spoken about why he is still competing at 38 years old, and how his motivation is not just records-based.
There is not much certainty around which tournaments the Serbian is going to play anymore, with there still question marks around Djokovic playing the ATP Finals.
However, he always insisted that he was going to play his family-run tournament in Athens, where Djokovic faced a tough opener against Alejandro Tabilo.
Novak Djokovic could equal a Rafael Nadal record next year
Although a match against the world number 89 would not seem too tough on the surface to someone like Djokovic, Tabilo is a player he had previously struggled against.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had lost both of his previous matches against the Chilean, including Tabilo beating Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this year.
However, Djokovic has now obtained his first win over Tabilo, after beating him 7-6(3) 6-1 in his first match at the ATP 250 tournament in Athens.
Not only is this his first win against Tabilo, it also means that Djokovic has now reached his 225th tour-level quarterfinal.
Nadal claimed his matches with Roger Federer were more interesting than Djokovic recently, but he may have one eye on the Serbian’s matches next year.
Djokovic has reached 225 tour-level quarterfinals in his career, which is one behind Nadal’s career record of 226.
With only the ATP Finals left on his schedule for this year, Djokovic cannot achieve this record until next year.
When did Novak Djokovic reach his first ATP Tour quarterfinal?
Djokovic reaching a quarterfinal is no longer a noteworthy story, and he has already reached five on the ATP Tour this year.
However, the first is always something memorable and that is something Djokovic achieved in 2006, when he was just 18 years old.
At the ATP tournament in Zagreb, Croatia, Djokovic beat fourth seed Radek Stepanek to reach his first ATP quarterfinal, and he would also advance to the semifinals before losing to Ivan Ljubicic.
That was also the same year where Djokovic won his first ATP title in Amersfoort, Netherlands.
Djokovic has now won 100 ATP titles, and he will look to win his 101st at the Hellenic Championships in Athens.
Now standing in the way of Djokovic is Nuno Borges, whom he has never played in a match before.
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