Novak Djokovic swatted aside Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6(5) to win the Italian Open title.
With the win, the Serb took his Masters 1000 titles to a record-extending 38.
The Serbian became the fifth man in the Open Era to earn 1,000 match wins when he defeated Casper Ruud in the semi-finals before backing that up with a win against Tsitsipas to win his first title of the season after one hour and 37 minutes.
In front of a packed crowd on center court, Djokovic outmaneuvered the Greek in the first set, before he showcased his winning mentality in the second set, rallying from 2-5 to become the oldest Rome champion at 34 years, 11 months, and 23 days.
In a dominant first set, Djokovic flew out of the blocks, quickly finding his range off the ground to break Tsitsipas immediately.
The Serbian was relentless on serve winning 92 percent of points behind his first delivery while targeting the Greek’s backhand effectively to move ahead.
However, Tsitsipas quickly recomposed himself at the start of the second set building a 4-1 lead.
From 5-2 up, it seemed that the Greek had the set in the bag, but Djokovic showed champion’s mettle and clawed his way back to 5-5.
With the momentum on his side, the World No. 1 was more consistent in the tie-break to win the Italian Open for his 87th tour-level title.
Djokovic was appearing in his fourth straight final at the clay-court event and has now lifted the trophy in the Italian capital six times, with his first triumph coming in 2008.
He now leads the Greek 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series and holds a 5-0 record against the 23-year-old on clay.
