Athens, 8 November (H.S.): Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic broke his recent string of semifinal losses on Friday, advancing to the final of the ATP tournament in Athens with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory over German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in just 79 minutes.
Despite having his serve broken for only the second time in the tournament, the 38-year-old Djokovic remained in firm control of the match. In the final, he will face either American Sebastian Korda or Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. The stakes are particularly high for Musetti, who must win the title to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
This was my best tennis in this tournament so far, and it came at the right time, Djokovic stated after the match.
Hanfmann is a dangerous player—he has a strong serve and groundstrokes, so I had to stay focused throughout the match.
The win was a significant milestone for Djokovic, as it snapped a four-match losing streak in semifinals. He had previously been eliminated in the final-four stage at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Shanghai Masters.His last semifinal victory was at the Geneva clay-court tournament in May, where he went on to defeat Hubert Hurkacz in the final to capture his 100th career singles title.
In men's tennis history, only Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109) have more singles titles.During the match, Djokovic secured a break at 3-2 to claim the first set. Although he dropped his serve to go down 2-1 in the second set, he broke back immediately to level the score at 3-3 before securing the decisive break to seal the win.
Addressing the enthusiastic crowd, Djokovic expressed his gratitude. Thank you all for filling this wonderful stadium once again, he said.
I have played in many beautiful indoor arenas around the world, but this is definitely in the top-three of my career.
The Athens tournament, which has replaced the discontinued Belgrade Open on the tour, has given local fans a celebrated showcase of Djokovic's elite form.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
