Novak Djokovic defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 2022 Italian Open in Rome

| by Zachary Wimer

The world number 1, Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and bageled him on his way to the trophy at the 2022 Italian Open in Rome.

Novak Djokovic was a big favorite to win the final match in Rome before the start. The Serbian gained the early lead after a slow and hesitant start of his opponent with a number of ugly mistakes. As Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to hit his serve regularly, the match devolved into a first-set bagel.

"I was looking forward to join Roger and Rafa" says Novak Djokovic on 1000th win
"I was looking forward to join Roger and Rafa" says Novak Djokovic on 1000th win

When the Greek is missing his first serve, he becomes extremely susceptible, which Djokovic took advantage of. In the second set, Tsitsipas regained his serve, which caused Djokovic some problems. Tsitsipas was able to leap out to a 4-1 lead as the Serbian's energy level dropped. He had a chance to tie it up at 5-1, but Djokovic saved it.

Tsitsipas led 5-2, but Djokovic fought back to tie the match at 5-5. Tsitsipas gained his lead back at 6-5 with a fast serve game, and Djokovic took it to a tiebreak. Djokovic used his backhand to target Tsitsipas in the tiebreak, and it worked. The Greek didn't last long, and his serve didn't help him out nearly enough. In the end, it was Djokovic who won the tiebreak 7-5 and won the trophy at the 2022 Italian Open in Rome.

"One day, me and Rafa could play golf just as friends" says Novak Djokovic
"One day, me and Rafa could play golf just as friends" says Novak Djokovic

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