Djokovic hits right note with Rome win
Fifteen days after the embarrassment of new York, novak Djokovic showed that he is ready to be a major problem for Rafael nadal at the french Open.
the 33-year-old Serb put the events of flushing Meadows behind him by winning the italian Open final last night, recovering from a slow start to beat pugnacious Argentinian Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 before a small crowd at Rome’s foro italico.
As a reminder of his threat to nadal — beaten by Schwartzman on Saturday — he racked up his 36th Masters 1000 title, taking him one ahead of the Spaniard’s tally in the events just below Grand Slam level.
‘i don’t think i played my best tennis through the entire match but i found it when i needed it the most,’ said Djokovic, who could have summarised his whole week with that. ‘We go to Paris now and i couldn’t have asked for a better tournament.’
He won the tournament without beating any top-ten ranked players, but avoided any controversy after his fourthround default at the US Open.
Having come back from a 0-3 deficit at the start, his level was still a warning for his rivals. it looks very much like a three-horse race for the men’s title, with new York winner Dominic thiem sitting out any preparatory events.
Simona Halep, meanwhile, won her first italian Open title as Karolina Pliskova was forced to retire injured in the final.
Romanian top seed Halep breezed through the first set 6-0 and led 2-1 in the second when her Czech opponent, who started the match with a heavily strapped left thigh, withdrew after 32 minutes on court.
Halep made it third time lucky in italian Open finals having lost in back-to-back appearances in 2017 and 2018.
‘i’ve finally won it,’ she said on court after the match. ‘i love this tournament and i play well here almost every year — besides last year, of course.
‘i started my rise up the rankings at this tournament in 2013, so i’ve always dreamed of this title.’
Halep is the form player on the women’s tour, having won 14 consecutive matches. She won the Prague Open and the Dubai Duty free Open either side of the coronavirus shutdown.
Current World no 1 Ashleigh Barty, meanwhile, has chosen not to travel to Paris due to coronavirus.