Stefanos Tsitsipas battled hard on Sunday against Novak Djokovic in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final. The problem was that Novak Djokovic was just a bit better.

The Greek star praised Djokovic, whom he called a “great champion”, for his performance not just in Rome, but over the past several years.

“He has everything tuned in close to perfection. When it comes to his diet or his everyday life, his tennis, he has everything scheduled out really well,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s like a Formula 1 car: every single small detail can disrupt his rhythm. He makes sure every single thing that he does is reaching as close to perfection as possible.”

With his straight-sets victory at the Foro Italico, Djokovic claimed a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 title.

“In terms of talking about tennis legends and breaking records, when it comes to all these things, I personally think he’s one of the most professional and the best of them all,” Tsitsipas said.

The Greek and Djokovic will next compete at Roland Garros. Last year, the pair clashed in a memorable championship match on the terre battue, with the Serbian rallying from two sets down to lift the trophy.

They both have lost to red-hot Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz this clay-court season. Tsitsipas believes those are the two leading favourites in Paris.

“Right now Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic. They both play great, great tennis. I would put them as favourites,” Tsitsipas said. “Right now I need to improve a few things in my game. I don’t know if I’m going to get there, but I hope I do with my hard work by the time Roland Garros begins.

“I’d love myself to get around with these players and be there with them. But I will really need to put a bit more attention to detail in the next couple of weeks.”

Thirteen-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal is also always among the leading favourites at the clay-court major. But Tsitsipas also belongs in the conversation, as he will climb to second in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin on Monday.

The 23-year-old is 14-2 on clay this season, earning his second Masters 1000 crown at Monte Carlo. Tsitsipas is not getting ahead of himself though, as he prepares to return to the venue where he reached his first major final.

“It’s a marathon that I have to run. Roland Garros is a marathon Grand Slam. Every Grand Slam is a marathon Grand Slam, but specifically Roland Garros,” Tsitsipas said. “It really takes the most out of you spiritually and physically when you’re out on the court. Clay courts [have] this ability to really squeeze every single part of you. You have to leave it, your all, out there.

“I’m ready to get a few days of rest and start practising again to get into that Roland Garros mindset. I enjoy playing in this city. I really hope my tennis allows me to go deep this year.”

Pound the backhand to get off to a flyer. Pound the backhand to put two hands on the trophy.

Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6(5) in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final on Sunday by unleashing against the Greek’s one-handed backhand in a straight-sets final that actually had three very distinct phases.

Overall, Tsitsipas hit 100 forehand groundstrokes and 90 backhand groundstrokes for the match, but the road to a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown for the Super Serbian definitely went through the Greek’s backhand wing.

Phase 1: Set 1 Djokovic 6-0
Djokovic was mentally locked in to begin the match, winning the first six points of the final to lay the groundwork for the first-set bagel. Tsitsipas committed an error on four of the first 10 backhands he struck, ultimately coughing up nine backhand errors in the opening set while collecting no winners.

The backhand was misfiring. Djokovic swarmed.

Too many backhands hit the frame or landed short as the Greek tried to roll the ball up high to Djokovic’s backhand wing. It appeared Tsitsipas had very little time to prepare for the shot as Djokovic was stepping into almost every ball he hit. What is even more startling is that Tsitsipas had zero backhand groundstroke winners in set one, and not one backhand groundstroke in the opening set extracted an error from Djokovic.

Phase 2: Set 2 Tsitsipas led 5-2
Tsitsipas raced to a 4-1 then 5-2 lead in the second set courtesy of Djokovic missing more and becoming increasingly agitated with his game as the pro-Greek crowd came alive, throwing their support behind Tsitsipas to extend the match to a third set.

Tsitsipas hit 29 backhands in this second phase of the match and remarkably committed zero errors while also hitting one winner and extracting two errors. It’s like a light switch was flicked and the Greek figured out a way to immediately stop the bleeding off this wing. Tsitsipas hit 34 forehand groundstrokes in the second period of the match, committing seven errors and collecting just one winner.

The backhand had suddenly become the star at the Foro Italico.

Phase 3: Set 2 Djokovic wins 7-6(5)
Tsitsipas had a break point with Djokovic serving at 1-4, 30/40 in the second set, but yielded a backhand winner to the Serbian, who was on the front foot desperately trying to play through Tsitsipas to save the set. Had Tsitsipas won that point, he would have served for set two and the final outcome could have been much different.

From 2-5 in the second set, Djokovic doubled down on pounding Tsitsipas’ backhand, making him hit 36 backhands in six games. In the second phase, Tsitsipas hit 29 backhands for no errors. In the third period, Tsitsipas hit 36 backhands for seven errors. In the third, Tsitsipas’ forehand only yielded two groundstroke errors.

It was once again the Tsitsipas backhand that was misbehaving.

Tsitsipas Backhand Groundstroke Performance
– Phase 1 = 6 games/25 backhands/9 errors

– Phase 2 = 7 games/29 backhands/0 errors

– Phase 3 = 6 games/36 backhands/7 errors

It was clearly the backhand groundstroke that faltered at the start and end of the match for the Greek. Djokovic mentally and emotionally lost his way in the middle of the encounter but took care of business when it mattered at the end of the match to notch his first title of the 2022 season.

#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune earned victory on his Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon debut Sunday, overcoming Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to reach the second round.

The 19-year-old clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in Munich at the start of May and has now won his past six tour-level matches following his two-hour, two-minute triumph against Rinderknech.

By improving to 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, Rune, who is third in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, booked a second-round clash with Adrian Mannarino.

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The Frenchman upset sixth seed Aslan Karatsev 7-6(0), 6-4 in two hours and 17 minutes to earn his first clay-court win of the season.

With his back against the wall, Mannarino saved four set points in the first set, rallying from 1-5 before he found his best level in the second set to advance. The 33-year-old is making his second appearance at home in Lyon.

In other action, Miami semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo moved past Australian James Duckworth 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to set a second-round meeting with top seed Cameron Norrie.

Cerundolo reached the semi-finals on clay in Rio de Janeiro in February and is now 8-4 on the surface in 2022.

In the one doubles match, top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek defeated wild cards Ugo Humbert and Tristan Lamasine 6-4, 6-7(2), 10-0.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic revealed that he is delighted with where his game is after he captured a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The Serbian, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, did not drop a set en route to his sixth title in Rome and earned his 1000th match win along the way.

“I couldn’t ask for a better week really,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “[I] played a perfect set today. Didn’t drop a set the whole tournament. I trusted the process really when I started training on clay…

“I usually peak here in Rome. I’ve had six titles but also had a lot of finals and semi-finals. Always a really good week of tennis with a lot of matches, and competitiveness on the court. Anything that I was really looking for here in Rome I got.”

The 34-year-old’s victory in the Italian capital has marked an impressive turnaround for Djokovic, who lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match in Monte Carlo just a month ago.

Despite his struggles at the start of the European clay swing, the top seed said that while he ‘felt rusty’, he never panicked and believed he would regain his best level providing that he played matches.

“I think physically I really felt really good from Madrid onwards,” Djokovic added when discussing his run to the semi-finals in Spain. “Already there I felt like the physical issues that I was facing in Monte Carlo and Serbia were behind me. I put in a lot of fitness hours between Serbia and Madrid.”

Pleased with his progress, Djokovic will now turn his attention to Roland Garros, where he will pursue the title and draw level with Rafael Nadal on 21 Grand Slam crowns.

“I could not ask for a better lead-up to Roland Garros really,” Djokovic said. “Serbian Open finals, really working my way through the tournament physically. Then Madrid, better performances, but still maybe not as sharp in those decisive moments. And here everything kind of came together and clicked.

“I’m going to Paris with confidence and good feelings about my chances there.”

Tallon Griekspoor notched an impressive opening win Sunday at the Gonet Geneva Open, with the Dutchman taking out sixth seed Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 in the first round at the ATP 250 event.

World No. 67 Griekspoor enjoyed a spectacular 2021 as he won eight titles on the ATP Challenger Tour, a single-season record. That run of successes contributed to the Dutchman reaching a career-high of No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on 28 February this year, but he arrived in Geneva chasing a first tour-level win since February.

There was no lack of confidence on display from Griekspoor in Switzerland, however, as he broke proven clay-courter Paul five times in a two-hour, 48-minute win. Griekspoor’s second-round opponent at the Tennis Club de Geneve will be a home favourite, either Johan Nikles or Leandro Riedi.

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There was also an upset in the other first-round match played on Sunday, as Kamil Majchrzak beat World No. 41 Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 to clinch the biggest win of his career.

Majchrzak won the opening five games of the match on his way to the opening set against eighth seed Bublik. Although the Montpellier champion found his feet to take the second set tie-break and force a decider, Majchrzak broke late in the third set to earn just his second victory over a Top 50 opponent in 16 attempts. Awaiting the Pole in the second-round will be qualifier Marco Cecchinato or former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem.

In the one doubles match played, Roman Jebavy and Hunter Reese defeated Ricardas Berankis and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-3, 6-4.

Daniil Medvedev returns to action this week at the Gonet Geneva Open for his first competition of the clay-court season. The World No. 2 is ready to compete following a “small procedure” to repair a “small hernia” after Miami.

“I feel great. [I] managed to get around I would say two weeks of good practice and one week of full practice,” Medvedev said. “[I] decided that it’s going to be good to prepare [for the] French Open, to get some matches here. Some matches, hopefully more than one.”

Medvedev will be making his debut in Geneva, where he will play former Top 10 star Richard Gasquet or Australian John Millman in his opening match. The 26-year-old, who has posted several videos of himself training in recent weeks, is hoping to get off to a quick start on his return.

This will be Medvedev’s first appearance on clay since losing in last year’s Roland Garros quarter-finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and he is hoping to adjust to the surface quickly. “It’s never been easy for me on clay courts to straightaway start good,” Medvedev said.

The 13-time tour-level champion will pursue his first title of the year in Switzerland and his maiden crown on clay. He will have to overcome a tough field, which includes potential quarter-final opponent Dominic Thiem, defending champion Casper Ruud and third seed Denis Shapovalov.

Most importantly, Medvedev is feeling well leading into his first tournament in six weeks.

“I’m feeling good,” Medvedev said. “Physically, I’m feeling ready.”

Novak Djokovic’s first title of the season, which he claimed Sunday in Rome, was big in more ways than one.

The World No. 1 showed he is back to top form by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6(5) to triumph at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, and also extended his lead in the ‘Big Titles’ race. The Serbian now has 63 of them, putting him five clear of Rafael Nadal (58) and nine ahead of Roger Federer (54). A ‘Big Title’ is a trophy at a Grand Slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament or an Olympic singles gold medal.

The 34-year-old has now earned at least one ‘Big Title’ in 11 of the past 12 years. He has also lifted at least one tour-level trophy in 17 consecutive seasons. With his sixth crown in Rome, Djokovic extended his record number of ATP Masters 1000 trophies to 38, putting him two in front of Nadal.

Djokovic still owns the best ‘Big Titles’ win-rate at one title won per 3.3 events played (63/205), while Nadal is second in the category, winning one for every 3.5 tournaments played at this level (58/201). Only Roger Federer (4.4, 54/240) and Pete Sampras (4.9, 30/147) have claimed a ‘Big Title’ at a rate of greater than once per five events played.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

^ Includes Olympic Games gold medals and tournament participations
* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990

Novak Djokovic has moved to within one set of capturing a record-breaking 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown Sunday after winning the first set against Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.

The Serbian became the fifth man in the Open Era to earn 1,000th match wins when he defeated Casper Ruud in the semi-finals and he backed that up with a strong first-set display against Tsitsipas on centre court.

The top seed flew out of the blocks as he returned with great depth, served well and controlled the tempo from the baseline with his watertight groundstrokes to move ahead after 30 minutes.

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Djokovic is appearing in his fourth straight final in Rome and is aiming to lift the trophy in the Italian capital for the sixth time, with his first triumph coming back in 2008. If he can close out the match, he will become the oldest Rome champion at 34 years, 11 months.

The 86-time tour-level titlist, who will spend a record-extending 370th week at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Monday, also defeated Tsitsipas at the clay-court event last year. Djokovic entered the match with a 6-2 lead in their ATP Head2Head series and is 4-0 against the Greek on clay.

The top seed reached the semi-finals in Madrid last week and has continued to build momentum in Rome. He has not dropped a set en route to the final, earning wins over Aslan Karatsev, Stan Wawrinka, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud.

Tsitsipas is trying to win his third ATP Masters 1000 title and second of the season after triumphing in Monte Carlo in April. The Greek, who will rise to No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, saved two match points in his opening match against Grigor Dimitrov and has earned a Tour-leading 31 wins in 2022.

It’s been a long wait, but Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are back in the winners’ circle.

The defending champions edged a dramatic encounter with John Isner and Diego Schwartzman at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday afternoon in Rome, clinching their fourth ATP Masters 1000 title together with a 6-2, 6-7(6) 12-10 championship match victory.

Mektic and Pavic earned nine tour-level titles last season on their way to finishing 2021 as the year-end No. 1 team in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings. They were yet to win a title in 2022 prior to arriving in Rome, but looked at home once again at the Foro Italico as they defended their 2021 crown for the loss of just one set all week.

“It’s big, we kind of started the year a little bit slow,” said Pavic after the match. “We were struggling, we were a little unlucky. It was not ideal.

“Obviously the first title of the year, it means a lot to gain some confidence. It’s been a while. We won a lot of tournaments last year, so always to win the title is a pretty good achievement, especially as it’s a Masters 1000 title.”

“It means so much,” added Mektic. “I mean, 11-9 [in the Match Tie-break], I don’t have to talk too much about it. Each point is so important, so I’m so, so happy that we made it this time.”

In contrast to their experienced opponents, Isner and Schwartzman were partnering for the first time in Rome. The duo became affectionately known as #Isnerman by fans, and the American-Argentine pair rallied well after an underwhelming first-set performance in Sunday’s final. They were inches from clinching the title themselves in the Match Tie-break, with a Schwartzman forehand just missing the line when they led 10/9.

A one-sided opening set saw Schwartzman and Isner broken once each as Mektic and Pavic started quickly. The Croatians were energetic at the net and solid from the baseline as Isner and Schwartzman struggled to settle into the encounter on Pietrangeli.

After a tighter second set was dominated by serve, Mektic and Pavic were on the brink of the title at 6/5 in the tie-break. After the third seeds let that championship point slip, however, Schwartzman raised his game at the perfect moment. The Argentine found a pair of inspired forehand winners to force a Match Tie-break as he and Isner became the only team to win a set against Mektic and Pavic across the Croatians’ back-to-back title runs.

Both teams let slip a championship match opportunity in the Match Tie-break before Mektic and Pavic found a way to rise above the tension to convert their third of the match, with their relentless solid net play helping them to a one-hour, 56-minute victory.

Isner was aiming for a third Masters 1000 of the year, having won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with countryman Jack Sock and the Miami Open presented by Itau with Hubert Hurkacz. For Schwartzman, the hunt for a maiden tour-level doubles crown goes on, with the Argentine now 0-5 in doubles finals.