With Monday's victory marking his fifth Italian Open crown, Novak Djokovic has now overtaken Rafael Nadal in the total count of Masters 1000 trophies. This win is particularly significant as it follows his sudden departure from the US Open only 15 days prior. Djokovic secured the championship by defeating Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3. Furthermore, he has moved past Pete Sampras in terms of time spent at the top of the rankings; having held the No. 1 spot for 287 weeks, he now trails only Roger Federer's 310 weeks. This surge in form highlights his current dominance as the French Open approaches in less than a week.
Djokovic's season record now stands at 31-1, with his only blemish being a fourth-round exit at the US Open against Pablo Carreno Busta. That loss was the result of a disqualification after he inadvertently struck a line judge with a ball. In the Italian Open final, Djokovic struggled early on, falling behind 0-3 in the first set, but he managed to recover his composure and outplay the Argentine. Schwartzman himself had an impressive tournament, having eliminated Nadal in the quarter-finals and Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals.
Djokovic after a bad start recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the opening set and steadied his lead against the Argentine. Schwartzman earlier in the tournament defeated Nadal in the quarter-finals, he then prevailed has the best against Denis Shapovalov in the semis.
Since 2016, no single player has managed to beat both Djokovic and Nadal in the same event. The last person to achieve this was Juan Martin del Potro during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Reflecting on his disqualification, Djokovic admitted that the incident at the US Open left him mentally shaken for several days. However, he explained that he focused on staying positive and moving forward one day at a time to overcome the setback.
He noted that returning to competition just a week after the event was crucial, as it provided the motivation he needed to get back on court and perform at his peak. Following the Italian Open final, Djokovic acknowledged that despite Nadal's quarter-final loss, the Spaniard remains the top favorite for Roland Garros due to his unmatched history at the tournament. Nevertheless, the Serbian feels confident about his chances on clay, citing Diego Schwartzman's victory over Nadal as proof that the Spaniard can be beaten.
After the Italian Open final, Djokovic claimed even though Nadal lost in the quarter-finals he believes the Spaniard will still be the No.1 favourite heading into Roland Garros. Djokovic said the record that Nadal has in the Roland Garros cannot make anybody be placed in front of him. But the Serbian is confident of beating Nadal in the clay court as it is already been proved by Diego in the Italian Open.