On this day, seven years ago, Novak won the first of 37 career ATP titles he’s got so far in his collection.
He was ranked no.36 in the world when he arrived in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, and lifted his first ATP trophy on July 23, 2006.
En route to the triumph at the Dutch Open, the reigning world no.1 defeated Boris Pasanski, Tomas Zib, Marc Gicquel, Guillermo Coria and Nicolas Massu in the title match 7-6 (5), 6-4.
With the victory Nole climbed to position no.28, and five years later he made history and realised his childhood dream of ascending to the ATP throne.
Since getting to no.1 on July 4, 2011, Novak has spent 91 weeks in the top spot.
See the last game of the 2006 Amersfoort final:
Photo: Getty Images
