Good Vibes in Athens!

Djokovic seems to be enjoying Greece...

We saw Novak quite locked in from the start against Tabilo, who had caused him trouble in the past. While he was untouchable on serve himself, he struggled on return, forcing him to win a tiebreak in the first set. Tabilo could not keep up his level in the second set, and it went by rather quickly. Something to note is that we saw Djokovic looking physically laboured at times, which has not been something all too unusual lately, especially in the opening rounds. Borges was helpless against Spizzirri in the first set, spending 85% of it pinned in his own backhand corner, helpless. He really found his groove in the second set, especially his serve and forehand and in the deciding set, Spizzirri was completely out of gas after having played a lot of matches lately. We've seen this kind of comeback win a lot from Borges; he is a fighter! This is a really tough matchup for Borges. He is at a big disadvantage in backhand exchanges, and he cannot afford to be greedy with his positioning to hit more forehands; it will be heavily punished by the GOAT, who can change direction at will! I also don't see him having a lot of success in return games... mainly cause he is not that good of a returner and Djokovic's serve is nasty in these kinds of conditions. How about I just tell you what I like about Borges? It might be easier ;) Nuno has moments where he goes on a streak and finds great rhythm, allowing him to hold his own games well with an underrated serve and forehand. Also, shall we acknowledge one of the areas that has declined the most for Djokovic, as he has gotten older? Returning. Lastly, as I mentioned in the last preview, he is now confirmed for the ATP Finals, and while I'm sure he is eager to build form here in conditions that are quite similar, it's still an ATP 250, and he might not chase every single ball as he would in other circumstances...