Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas could only offer praise to Novak Djokovic who defeated him 6-0, 7-6(5) in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. It was the Serb’s 38th ATP 1000 crown, a record that he extended at the tournament in Rome. It was also his first tournament title of a year that started badly when he was deported before he could defend his Australian Open title.
“He played really well. He started amazing,” Tsitsipas said of the world number 1 after the match. “He played great tennis. Really closing the gap in most of the shots. Behind every single ball. Incredible handling of every single ball, not giving away any unforced errors.”
According to atptour.com Djokovic won 92 percent of his first serve points in a near flawless first set.
In the second set, Tsitsipas took command and was leading 5-2 when Djokovic began to haul his way out of trouble to level 5-5.
Djokovic proved the more consistent in the tie break and his victory in Rome was his 87th tour title, a record that he just extended. Earlier in the tournament, the Serbian defeated Norwegian Casper Ruud in the semi-final to mark his 1,000th match victory – the fifth man in the Open Era to reach that landmark. In beating Tsitsipas, Djokovic, at 34 years, 11 months and 23 days, became the oldest Rome champion.
“I pleasantly 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,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “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,” Djokovic said after his victory over Tsitsipas who he defeated in the 2021 quarter finals.
“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.”
His victory in Rome ensured that he remained world number 1 for 370 weeks – another record that the Serbian has extended this week. He holds a 7-2 advantage over Tsitsipas – on clay he is unbeaten in five games against the Greek champion.