Novak Djokovic, the number one Serb in the ATP rankings, defeated Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday to become champion of the Masters 1000 in Rome, a week before his Roland Garros debut.
Djokovic closed the game in 2 sets of 0, a partial 6-0 and 7-6 (7/5) in one hour and 35 minutes.
It is the first title of the year for the Serbian, who has shown himself in good shape after the first quarter in which he almost did not take to court for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Reaching the thousandth victory in her career yesterday, the tennis player scored another victory starting with the “tire” in the first set over Tsitsipas, who was the champion of Monte Carlo’s Masters 1000 in April.
In the second set, the Greek improved and even broke Djokovic’s serve, making it 3-1 on the scoreboard. However, the world number one showed his usual tenacity and won in a tie-break to settle the match.
“This place has always been very special to me. It has always given me confidence and made me happy when I really needed positive emotions, in moments when I was a little down,” the Serb said on receiving the trophy.
“This year, whatever happened in Australia, it took me a while to find my balance mentally and physically,” he said.
At Roland Garros, Djokovic will try to reach Rafael Nadal’s record of biggest Grand Slam tournament winner with 21 titles.
