Tabilo’s Unbroken Streak Faces Djokovic in Athens
Alejandro Tabilo arrives in Athens with a perfect 2-0 record against Novak Djokovic, turning a season of injuries into fuel for one last hard-court push against the legend.
Under the glowing lights of the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship, Alejandro Tabilo steps onto the hard courts Tuesday evening, ready to defend his improbable edge over Novak Djokovic. The Chilean left-hander, ranked No. 89 in the PIF ATP Rankings, stands as one of just three players—alongside Marat Safin and Jiri Vesely—who have faced the 24-time major champion at least twice without a defeat. This clash pulses with underdog tension, where Tabilo’s recent resilience collides with Djokovic’s quest to rewrite their history on a surface that favors precision and power.
Injuries forge deeper resolve
Pain first shadowed Tabilo at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March, when left wrist discomfort forced him to tape it and battle on, a choice reflecting his lifelong drive to push through barriers. That grit culminated in a stunning 6-3, 6-4 upset over Djokovic at the Monte-Carlo Masters, but the victory concealed escalating issues; a subsequent three-set loss to Grigor Dimitrov spiked the agony, revealing an MRI near stress fracture. He shares this rare company with only Safin and Vesely, yet his path to these wins traces through a body tested repeatedly, from a five-centimetre abdominal tear after Roland Garros to a twisted ankle at Winston-Salem.
“The problem with me, I really like to just dig it out and not tell anybody about my pain. Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to just play, so I’ve been building up a tolerance, so anything that I feel a little pain, I don’t think it’s that big,” Tabilo reflected. “So until I feel pain, that’s when it’s more than usual. A few years ago in Roland Garros, I trained a few days with appendicitis, I didn’t know, I thought it was just a stomach ache, so it [became] peritonitis. it’s just a battle of knowing when to stop.”
These setbacks dropped him to No. 126 by August, disrupting rhythm across surfaces and forcing a reevaluation of limits. Yet in the haze of recovery, Tabilo sharpened his mental armor, turning discomfort into a quiet weapon that now sharpens his focus amid the quickened tempo of Athens' hard courts. The evening crowd’s murmurs build as he warms up, his lefty angles hinting at disruptions to come.
Resurgence builds late momentum
From that ranking nadir, Tabilo rebuilt with deliberate steps, reaching an ATP Challenger Tour final in Guangzhou (Huangpu) to reclaim match toughness in unflashy venues. As a qualifier at the ATP 250 in Chengdu, he grinded through a final-set tie-break against Lloyd Harris, then claimed the title by outlasting Lorenzo Musetti in another final-set tie-break, victories that restored flow on indoor hard courts. At 28, the three-time ATP Tour titlist channels this surge into Athens, where the surface’s speed demands compressed patterns like inside-out forehands and low-skidding underspin to counter Djokovic‘s baseline mastery.
The former World No. 1 eyes flipping their 2-0 ledger, but Tabilo’s recent crosscourt depth and one–two combinations signal tactical evolution born from adversity. He views this late push as a foundation for renewal, the cool night air carrying whispers of possibility as rallies promise to stretch under the lights. Djokovic’s return prowess looms large, yet Tabilo’s adaptive serve variations could carve openings in the Serb’s defense.
“Just really happy about the matches I’ve been able to get going. it’s been a tough year with injuries and everything, so it’s been tough to find the rhythm,” he shared. “I feel like slowly I’m getting there, even though it’s the last tournament of the year. But hopefully I can use this to do a good preseason and bring it to 2026.”
Subconscious fire drives the challenge
Tabilo’s edge against Djokovic stems from a mindset programmed in childhood, hours glued to TV screens absorbing the Serb’s game and subconsciously mapping counters like down-the-line backhands and varied slice serves. This loose aggression, unburdened by expectations, has yielded his unblemished record, and now on hard courts, it evolves with quicker transitions to jam returns and exploit angles from the left side. The Athens atmosphere thickens with anticipation, the court’s bounce amplifying every shot’s intent as Tabilo seeks a third triumph to cap 2025.
“Just so happy to be able to win those kind of matches [before]. It’s going to be different this time on hard court,” he told ATPTour.com. “Just want to do a good match and hopefully keep going with that lead. But it’s pretty crazy to think about [his 2-0 lead against Djokovic].” In this final tournament, psychology intertwines with execution, Tabilo’s journey from hidden struggles to poised play poised to propel him into 2026 with unbroken momentum.
“I don’t know. I think I’ve been trying to figure that out myself,” he mused on his success against the Serbian. “But I feel just in my subconscious, since I was little watching him play almost every time on TV, maybe you programme how you would play him or you know how he plays and you just go out in the match and try to play loose and you know you have nothing to lose, so just try and play what you want to do.”
