Paris (AFP) - Novak Djokovic won the 101st title of his career when he came from behind to beat Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the ATP event in Athens on Saturday.

The Serb is one of just three men to have racked up a century of titles - he still needs two to equal Roger Federer’s 103 while Jimmy Connors heads the list with 109.

At 38 years and five months old, the 24-time Grand Slam winner is the oldest tournament winner since Australia’s Ken Rosewall, who was 43 when he won in Hong Kong in 1977.

“An incredible battle… Three hours of a gruelling match, physically,” said Djokovic. “It could have been anybody’s match, so congrats to Lorenzo for an amazing performance. I’m just very proud of myself to get through this one.”

It was Djokovic’s second title of 2025, having won on the clay of Geneva in May.

“Novak, there are not many words to say about you and your career,” said Musetti, who fell to 1-9 against Djokovic.

“You are proving, still at your age, that you can kick us, like me today. Every time I share the court with you, I take it as a lesson, so thanks for that.”

Musetti had initially needed to win the title to secure the eighth and final place at next week’s ATP Finals. His defeat handed Felix Auger-Aliassime a spot in Turin instead, but Djokovic’s subsequent withdrawal paved the way for Musetti as well.

Musetti, who saved a match point in his semi-final win over Sebastian Korda, has lost each of his last six finals. His only ATP titles came at Hamburg and Naples in 2022.

Djokovic had long since qualified for Turin, but kept everyone guessing about his participation in the prestigious end-of-season tournament. He eventually decided to bring an early end to his season, skipping the ATP Finals for the second year in a row.

The Athens event, directed by Djokovic’s younger brother Djordje, was supposed to be held in Belgrade, as it was in 2024.

But in August, the ATP announced that the tournament would instead take place in Athens, without specifying the reasons for the relocation.

Djokovic, who had previously avoided making political statements, has in recent months on several occasions expressed support for the students who have been protesting for a year against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic.

Since then, he has fallen out of favour with the authorities in Serbia and become a target of pro-government tabloids.