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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won the fifth crown in Rome and beat the first Masters 1000 finalist Diego Schwartzman by 7: 5, 6: 3. The match lasted one hour and 53 minutes and Djokovic survived a difficult first set like a few times in this one. Week and won the second to win 36
Masters 1000 title secured. Rafael Nadal stayed in 35 titles. Novak became Rome’s oldest champion and expanded his dominance in 2020 after winning 31 of 32 games. Djokovic lost his serve game three times, two early in the match.
He took five breaks to be the first to cross the finish line and claim the second Masters 1000 title of the season. Djokovic opened the game with a winning serve, squandering a game point and breaking when his backhand found the net.
Schwartzman made four serve winners in the second game that kept him alive and secured the game after a bad shot from Novak to get the break and open a 2-0 lead. Struggling to find a rhythm in the rain, Novak made a backhand error to give Diego a break in the third game.
Djokovic began to play better in the fourth game for a wake-up call, which opened up a stoppage possibility and converted it after Schwartzman’s double fault. Novak won his service game with an ace in the fifth game to cut the deficit to 2-3 and waited for more opportunities to come back in subsequent games.
The Serbian forced a mistake from Diego to generate a break point in the sixth game. Djokovic transformed it when the Argentine got into the net with a forehand after serving to remove the deficit and put himself on the positive side of the scoreboard.
Djokovic won 16 of the previous 21 points and earned his serve in the seventh game with a winning serve to advance for the first time. It looked much better than in the first 20 minutes. At 30-15 in game eight, Diego threw a perfect forehand down the line and sealed the game with a 4-4 serve winner.
Novak Djokovic became the first player to win 36 Masters 1000 titles
Djokovic fended off a break point with a volley winner in game nine and hit another for a significant hold and a 5-4 lead.
To stay in the set, Diego eliminated a set point with a forehand winner and won the game after two twos and a 5-5 backhand winner. Novak opened up a 6-5 lead and won his service game after a two in Game 11, forcing the opponent to stay in the second set for the second time.
Novak created three more set points and converted the last to win the set 7-5 after 70 minutes. Before the second set he won massively. Djokovic overcame that terrible start to dominate the shorter points and win the set after a marathon.
He came close to his 36th Masters 1000 title as he has never lost a Masters 1000 final after winning the first set. Diego started again and started the second set with a break, ready to fight to the end.
Djokovic regained the service break and made it 1-1 when Schwartzman landed a far right forehand. The Serbian won at the net to earn his third serve and put his opponent under more pressure.
The Argentine made 4 winners to make it 2-2 and survived the first set heading for the second. Djokovic survived two break points in the fifth game, stayed focused, and won it with a 3-2 serve winner.
Diego stood shoulder to shoulder and won his game with a solid drop shot before Djokovic closed the next game to open a 4-3 gap. Schwartzman got carried away by pressure and made casual mistakes in the eighth game only to lose his serve with a winning backhand over the line to Djokovic, who would later serve 5-3 for the title. The Serb won his service game to seal the deal and celebrate the title in style.
