Novak Djokovic has not solved the mystery surrounding his participation in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, scheduled to take place at the Inalpi Arena from November 9-16, but he is playing the Athens ATP 250 this week and made a strong debut by defeating Chilean ace Alejandro Tabilo for the first time. The latter had beaten him both at the Rome Masters 1000 last year and in Monte Carlo in 2025, but he could not do anything against a very good version of the Serbian legend yesterday.
The former world number 1 - who had not played an official match since the Rolex Shanghai Masters - had not participated in the Paris Masters 1000 to solve some physical problems and everyone is wondering whether or not he will be present in Turin, where he triumphed in both 2022 and 2023 (he was absent in the last edition).
Nole's strange schedule
Despite having played a reduced number of tournaments again this year and not having achieved his goal of winning another Major title, the 38-year-old from Belgrade still occupied the third position in the ATP Race until a few weeks ago and became the oldest player of all time to have reached at least the semifinals in all Slams within the same season.
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Speaking on 'Eurosport', Nicolas Mahut confided that he did not fully understand Novak's decision to play the Athens tournament: "I don't understand the logic behind his recent schedule, even though I know that the Athens ATP is organized by his family. Djokovic played the Shanghai Masters 1000 and everyone expected that he would also be present in Paris to improve his game in indoor conditions, instead he missed the last Masters 1000 of the year and chose to participate in the Athens ATP this week.
If he were to reach the final in the Greek capital, he will have very little time to go to Turin and get used to the new conditions. If his real goal is to achieve a prestigious result at the ATP Finals, this schedule does not appear very logical."
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The former world number 1 would make his debut in Turin on Monday 10 November at the latest.
