Serbia's Novak Djokovic brushed aside his unfortunate US Open ouster last week, as he made a remarkable comeback in the Rome Masters to win his first clay-court title of the year. He beat Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in straight sets on Monday, 7-5, 6-3, as he consolidates on his number one ranking.
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As a result of the win, he not only won his fifth title at Rome, but it was also his 36th ATP title. In the process, he has gone past Spain's Rafael Nadal, to now hold the record of most Masters title. Nadal, meanwhile, was ousted in the semis by Schwartzman in straight sets.
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As for the final, the match started on an alarming note for the world number one, as he was 0-3 down in the opening three games of the first set. Nonetheless, as he gained more focus and started to understand Schwartzman's gameplay, he made a steady comeback by breaking back, to win the opening set 7-5.
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The second set saw convincing gameplay from both. However, the calmness of the Serbian, along with fine precision, allowed Djokovic to gain the upper hand, as a break in the set was enough for him to lift the title.
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As a result of this win, Djokovic has now won 31 of his 32 matches this year, with his only loss coming at the US Open last week, where he was handed a default after accidentally hitting a line-judge. He has won four trophies this year, as the tennis calendar has been curtailed owing to the ongoing pandemic.
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“It was a great week. A very challenging week. I don’t think I played my best tennis throughout the entire week, but I think I found my best tennis when I needed it the most in the decisive moments today, yesterday [and in] practically every match,” said Djokovic after the title win.
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“That definitely makes me very satisfied and proud that I managed to find that fifth gear when it was most needed. Turning to Paris, I couldn’t ask for a better tournament here in Rome. Another big title and [I am] super pleased with it," he added.
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Meanwhile, Djokovic has moved ahead of Pete Sampras to hold the number one spot for the most number of weeks (287) and is 23 weeks behind current leader, Roger Federer of Switzerland. The Serbian has also become the oldest to win the Rome Masters, at the age of 33, breaking Nadal's record of 32.
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