World no. 1 Novak Djokovic notched his 55th Masters 1000 final after a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Casper Ruud in the Rome Masters semi-final. Novak moved into his 11th title clash at Foro Italico, battling against Stefanos Tsitsipas for the trophy. Djokovic celebrated a massive milestone, becoming the fifth player with 1000 ATP wins, joining Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal! Djokovic toppled Ruud for the third time in as many encounters, keeping his serve under control and getting broken once. Casper served at 75%, but it was not enough to keep him safe. The Norwegian faced nine break points and experienced four breaks of serve to propel the Serb into the final.
Novak Djokovic achieved his 1000th ATP victory in the Rome Masters semi-final.
Djokovic fired 20 winners and unforced errors, firing only four service winners and trailing in the shortest range up to four strokes. The Serb erased that deficit with a better performance in the mid-range and the most extended exchanges to move closer to the title. Casper sprayed a backhand mistake in the encounter’s first game and lost serve to experience an early setback. Novak forced the rival’s error in game two to confirm the break and settle into a nice rhythm. Djokovic painted a backhand down the line winner for two break chances in game three, and Ruud saved them to reach deuce. Novak caused Casper’s mistake with a deep return to seize the third break chance and forge a 3-0 advantage. The Serb held after deuce in game four with a volley winner at the net before the Norwegian grabbed his first game with a hold at love a few minutes later.
Djokovic served for the opener at 5-2 and sprayed a forehand error to lose serve and keep Ruud in contention. Casper reduced the deficit to 4-5 before Novak wrapped up the set after the rival’s backhand error in game ten for 6-4 in 55 minutes. Ruud played well in those moments and followed Djokovic’s pace in the second set’s opening six games. Novak landed a forehand down the line winner in game seven to create two break chances, and Casper saved both to extend it. Djokovic grabbed the fourth break chance after Ruud’s backhand mistake to open a 4-3 gap and move closer to the finish line. Novak brought the eighth game home at 15 to confirm the lead and sealed the deal with a forehand crosscourt winner in the next one to celebrate a massive milestone.
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