Novak Djokovic became the 2015 Rome Masters champion for a fourth time after beating Roger Federer, who is yet to capture the elusive Rome Masters at Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Sunday’s win was also the world #1’s fourth consecutive Master’s 1000 title (at a tournament he competed in), making him the only player in history to produce such a feat.
The Serbian star beat long-time rival Federer 6-4 6-3 to put his name on the trophy for the fourth time, previously winning in 2014, 2011, and 2008. His straight sets win over the world #2 means he extends his rich vein of form to 22 wins in a row, putting him in good stead ahead of his quest to capture the upcoming French open.
In what was the 39th meeting between the pair, top seed Djokovic opened proceedings in fine form, producing his blistering best from the off; winning the first 10 of 11 points on serve. The Serbian pressed the second seed hard in the fourth game of the first set, taking it to deuce, with Federer eventually holding.
The Swiss managed to hold off Djokovic until late in the set, even putting pressure on the top seed’s serve at 4-all. The Swiss maestro managed to secure a 0-30 lead on his opponent’s serve and forced the game to deuce. Reliant as ever, Djokovic held firm, edging ahead to 5-4.
Despite being held off by Federer for most of the first set Djokovic pounced late, striking a return winner that clipped the edge of the sideline to set up set point, wrapping up a tight opener in 39 minutes.
Federer managed five aces to Djokovic’s three in the opening set, yet it was the Serbian who won 85% of first serve points and 55% on his second serve, a statistic which proved pivital as Federer only managed 68% of first serve points won, which against Djokovic simply isn’t enough.
The second set proved tougher for a deflated Federer. The top seed capitalized on Federer’s drop in form to win 75% of the Swiss man’s second serve points; and with Djokovic refusing to let up, he raced out to an early 3-0 lead.
The World #2 was clearly struggling to make inroads from the back of the court against the might of Djokovic, who was serving at a staggering 73% for the match, a statistic most players would struggle against.
Djokovic held his nerve and never looked in doubt in the second set. At 5-3 as he served for the match, Federer struck a forehand wide on match point allowing Djokovic to secure his fourth Rome trophy in only 76 minutes in front of a delighted crowd.
Djokovic has now won four of the five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in 2015 and is riding high with a 22-match winning streak; his last loss came to Federer at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final in February earlier in the year.
This year the Serbian superstar is now 14-1 against Top 10 opponents and also moves up to second place in the all-time Masters 1000 title winners with 24. Djokovic and Federer were previously tied with 23 titles each coming into the match, but the World #1’s win in Rome puts him second in the list behind Rafael Nadal who has 27.
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