After 85 career ATP titles and a co-record holding 20 Grand Slam championships, Novak Djokovic finally said yes to the big question before this year’s U.S. Open Tennis. On Sunday, Aug. 29, 337 weeks after he first achieved the number one ATP ranking in 2011, Nole announced his first timepiece partnership with Swiss watch brand, Hublot.
“Let the adventure begin,” Djokovic announced on social media.
A top tennis player going without a branded watch for such a long stretch of his career is an oddity in the sport, especially one who lifts as many trophies as the Djoker. Watch site Hodinkee even dedicated a story to the question, “Why Doesn’t Novak Djokovic Have A Watch Sponsor?” earlier in August. Rolex has Roger. Richard Mille has Rafa. And, as evidenced by his blue Big Bang Meca-10 ceramic watch, Hublot now has its man in Novak.
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As with most professional tennis players, Djokovic is rigid in his routine. The slightest change — signing with a new watch brand right before the U.S. Open, for example — can cause a disruption. Fortunately for the legendary player, the watch matched his cerulean tournament style.
The Serbian tennis luminary joins a star-studded horological family in Hublot, standing with the same chronographic company as Pelé, Kylian Mbappé, Usain Bolt, and Dustin Johnson.
“As an athlete driven by the ambition to make history in tennis, I am particularly proud of the opportunity to join the Hublot family, which boasts athletes who have left their mark on their respective disciplines by becoming legends,” Djokovic said in a press release.
The tennis icon shares many similarities with the seminal Swiss watchmaking company, notably a relentless pursuit of excellence and performance.
“It’s a great day for Hublot!” Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe said. “We are particularly honored to have the great Novak Djokovic join our beautiful family. He is a player who makes tennis history by being unique, first, and different, which is exactly our motto.”
Post the tournament, the newly betrothed pair are planning to collaborate on a personalized, limited-edition series, with Djokovic involved in the design, according to GQ. With tennis season ending just short of a historic Grand Slam win for the Djoker in the U.S. Open, there will be plenty of time between practice in the coming months to forge a new, visionary timepiece.
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