Novak Djokovic reveals the match he believes was the best tennis of his career

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Novak Djokovic has played 1,394 matches in his career, and a good number of them have already carved out a place in tennis history.

The Serbian star stepped onto the ATP Tour for the first time in 2004 at the Croatia Open, when he was just 17 years old.

More than two decades later, Djokovic is still making his mark. He opened with a win at the newly launched Hellenic Championship in Athens on Tuesday.

He ended up naming what he felt was the best match he’s ever been involved in. The answer probably wouldn’t surprise most fans.

Djokovic picks 2019 Australian Open final as his finest performance

Djokovic, who has appeared in 37 Grand Slam finals, picked two well-known classics when asked to name the best matches of his career.

“Finals of Australian Open 2012 against [Rafael] Nadal, the longest Grand Slam final ever,” he said. “And against Roger [Federer] in 2019, the finals of Wimbledon, those were the best matches I was ever a part of.”

He came through both times in five sets to secure two of the biggest wins of his career. But Djokovic did give a different answer when it came to which match he played his very best tennis.

“But the best match I ever played would probably be the finals of the Australian Open against Nadal in 2019,” he said.

The win marked Djokovic’s seventh title at Rod Laver Arena and stands out as one of his most commanding performances on a big stage. The victory also helped reinforce his status as world number one, a position he has held longer than anyone else in history.

Djokovic opens up about the reality of holding the number one ranking

Djokovic has held the top spot for 428 weeks, well ahead of Roger Federer in second place. Asked how it feels to be the only player with more than 400 weeks at number one, Djokovic gave a thoughtful response.

“It feels great, but it also feels a bit lonely,” he said. “You feel like the hunted one; it changes the perception and the approach.”

“Obviously, it’s the ultimate achievement, being number one in any sport, in any profession, it’s something I dreamed of when I was a kid, and winning Wimbledon.

“When you achieve that, you understand that there is a different dimension and approach of staying there. All of a sudden you have to defend the position rather than chasing it. So it’s a great feeling but at the same time you want to stay there. So at times you feel defensive because you want to hold on to it.”

“Once you start thinking that you’re number one and everybody wants to take your position away from me,” he said. “You create this unnecessary stress and pressure on yourself.”

Even though Djokovic has handled that pressure well throughout his career, getting back to number one seems unlikely now.

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Sitting fifth in the ATP rankings and over 6,000 points behind the top two players makes returning to number one an uphill climb. And with Djokovic playing fewer tournaments these days will make reclaiming that spot even harder.