Rome Masters 2022: Gritty Djokovic outclasses Tsitsipas to win 1st title of the year

Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win the Rome Masters 2022. It happens to be his first title of the year and the sixth in Rome.

It was somewhat one-sided domination from world number one, as Novak Djokovic of Serbia outclassed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the 2022 Rome Masters final. It was a straight-set defeat for the latter, as the former displayed total dominance to clinch the title with a 6-0, 7-6 (7-5). It happened to be Djokovic's first title of the year, having missed out on competitions for most of the year due to his non-vaccinated status for COVID. At the same time, he was rusty in the tournament he participated in. Also, it was the Serbian's sixth title in Rome and is the second-most successful here, after Rafael Nadal (10).

As for the match, Djokovic began the opening set on an explosive note, winning a perfect set 6-0. While he was aggressive right from the start, Tsitsipas made a lot of unforced errors, while it also seemed at times that he was being over-aggressive, leading to the unforced ones. However, the Greek had some gas left in his tank in the second set.

Tsitsipas began the second set on a positive note, holding his opening two serves before breaking Djokovic and eventually extending his lead in the set to 4-1. However, the cool-headed Serbian was smart enough to bounce back and take it to the tie-break. While both gained a break in the tie-breaker, Djokovic successfully converted his only championship points, thanks to another unforced error from the Greek.

“I surprised myself, I can say. I had a clear game plan, and I knew what to expect, so I knew what I had to do, but I did play a perfect first set. After that, it was a little tighter. At this level, one or two points can turn a match, and he was then back in the game at 4-1 up,” said Djokovic after the success.

“The match could easily have gone to a third set, but I managed to find the right shots at the right time to come back into the match. The tie-break, I was maybe an inch better, but it was a tight, tight tie-break for both of us. Two days ago, I played great. I have been building my form for the past couple of weeks, and I knew that my best shape on clay usually comes around Rome time, so it could not be better going into Roland Garros with a title,” Djokovic concluded.