Italian Open 2020: Novak Djokovic clinches 5th Rome crown and makes Masters 1000 History [Video]

Novak Djokovic secures a 7-5 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman on Monday to win his fifth Italian Open as well as seal a record 36th Masters 1000 title.

In a match witnessed by 1,000 spectators admitted into the main Centre Court, Schwartzman couldn’t replicate the same heroics, which saw him knock out nine-time champion Nadal earlier in the competition, against the top-ranked Serb.

“It was a great week,” Djokovic, 33, said on court after the match. “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.

“That definitely makes me very satisfied and proud that I managed to find that fifth gear when it was most needed.”

Watch the match highlights below

Most ATP Masters 1000 Titles

Rank	Player	Titles
1	Novak Djokovic	36
2	Rafael Nadal	35
3	Roger Federer	28
4	Andre Agassi	17
5	Andy Murray	14

 

Related: Italian Open 2020: Simona Halep wins title in Rome as defending champ Pliskova retires to injury

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Djokovic has only lost 1 of his 32 matches this year and has won four trophies from five events in 2020, following title runs at the Australian Open where he defeated Dominic Thiem, victory over Tsitsipas at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships, and the Western & Southern Open win over Milos Raonic.

The Serb has also won the past three Masters 1000 tournaments and also claimed the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters trophy prior to his wins in New York and Rome.

Aside from winning the Italian Open, Djokovic also reaches another milestone as he passes his idol Pete Sampras in the new FedEx ATP Rankings. The Serbian will now begin his 287th week at the top of the FedEx ATP Rankings as he moves into second place.

FedEx ATP Rankings

Rank	Player	Weeks At No. 1
1	Roger Federer	310
2	Novak Djokovic	287
3	Pete Sampras	286
4	Ivan Lendl	270
5	Jimmy Connors	268

 

Djokovic has also moved ahead of Nadal to become the oldest champion in the tournament history. The 33-year-old improves to 5-5 in Rome championship matches, one year after falling to a 32-year-old Nadal in last year’s championship match.

Djokovic has also made it 2-in-2 wins at the Italian Open against Schwartzman after he also overcame the Argentine in three sets to advance to last year’s championship match. Djokovic is unbeaten in five ATP Head2Head matches against Schwartzman.

“[Diego] played well in heavy conditions, especially at the beginning… He played many long matches. He had fantastic wins against Nadal and Shapovalov last night, so credit to him for a phenomenal tournament and I wish him all the best in the rest of the season,” says Djokovic.

Schwartzman who was appearing in his first Masters 1000 final, was attempting to become the fifth Argentine to lift a Masters 1000 trophy and would have cracked the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time if he had captured the Rome trophy.

As a result of Djokovic’s win, Rome semi-finalist Shapovalov will make his debut in the Top 10.