Djokovic wins 5th Italian Open to make Masters history
He completes 286th week as No.1, pips Sampras
September 23, 2020 00:00:00
Serbia's Novak Djokovic posing with his trophy after winning the final match of the Men's Italian Open against Argentina's Diego Schwartzman at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy on Monday — Reuters
ROME, Sept 22 (Agencies): World number one Novak Djokovic overcame a sluggish start to lift his fifth Italian Open title on Monday, defeating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-5 6-3 for a record 36th ATP Masters crown.
Playing in his maiden ATP 1000 final, eighth seed Schwartzman raced out of the blocks to convert two break point opportunities for a 3-0 lead as Djokovic's usually clinical backhand offered up some errors.
An on-and-off drizzle at ForoItalico, which included a smattering of fans, added to Djokovic's frustration but he still found a way past Schwartzman's serve to draw level at 3-3.
Djokovic's relentless baseline hitting came to the fore when he broke Schwartzman in the 12th game to take the opening set, despite committing 18 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, who has started his 287th week at the number one position in the ATP Rankings, has gone past Pete Sampras (286 weeks) for second place in the all-time list of most weeks at the numerouno spot.
Sampras, who was ranked number one for the first time on April 12, 1993, spent a total of 11 stints in top spot, with his longest run of 102 weeks between April 15, 1996 and March 29, 1998.
