Novak Djokovic returns to Rome, obtains his sixth title at the Internazionali d’Italia and the victory number 1001 of his career and definitively archives in the album of bad memories the poisons of the beginning of the year, when he was excluded from the Australian Open for the its no-vax positions. Now the goal is Roland Garros, where the Serbian presents himself as a great favorite, especially in light of Rafa Nadal’s physical problems.
The Greek Tsitsipas passed in the final
The Serbian, number one in the ranking, overtook the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, number 5 in the world rankings, in the final in two sets with the result of 6-0, 7-6 after an hour and 36 minutes of play. It was an unspectacular match and a lot of free mistakes, largely by Tsitsipas who was unable to keep up with the pace of the previous matches, probably also due to Djokovic’s level. The Greek showed psychological resistance problems in facing finals of this level: last year he had Djokovic reassemble two sets in the final of Roland Garros. The latter thus rises to seven victories out of nine matches against Tsitsipas and raises the count of the Internazionali d’Italia won out of twelve finals played to six.
Djokovic: It’s nice to arrive now at Roland Garros on the strength of this success
«I am pleasantly surprised by myself, I played a perfect first set. I was a bit tense at the start of the second and two points can turn the game around. You could easily go to the third set but I found the right shots and the right timing. I think I was an inch better than him at the tie break. It’s nice to arrive now at Roland Garros on the strength of this success »explains Djokovic. “If I’m back? Two days ago I played great and in the last two weeks the level of form has risen. This field has always been very special for me, it has given me confidence and joy, the positive emotions to raise my fitness level in moments when I was down in the city gives a great energy »he adds. Djokovic spent words of encouragement for his rival: «Stefanos is a humble guy, I’m sure he will win many trophies in the future. I thank Rome and Italy, which have always given me positive emotions when I was down, I say thank you for the energy and the support. This victory – concludes Nole – is for my son Stefan: today he played his first tennis match and I hope he won ».
Iga Swiatek confirms herself as queen of Rome
A few hours earlier, the women’s final ended with the success of Iga Swiatek, who confirmed herself as queen of Rome. The number one in the ranking and seeding defeated 6-2 6-2, in an hour and 22 minutes of the match, the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, seventh in the ranking and ninth seed, ringing the 28th consecutive victory (the fourth streak longest positive of the Open Era), the 35th of this 2022 (the 27th in two sets) against just 3 defeats.
The 79th edition of the Internazionali ends with some controversy
The 79th edition of the Internazionali therefore closes with a rapidly growing budget but also with some controversy and with the lunge against the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò. “It is an edition that in my memory is unprecedented – underlines the federal president Angelo Binaghi – for the commitment shown and the attachment to the tournament”. Then it’s time for the data, finally helped by a post-pandemic economic and social recovery. «The hotels in Rome are 90% full and in particular thanks to our event with a defined quality tourism and therefore with great spending capacity – explains Binaghi. Also surpassed the collection of the 2019 F1 Monza Grand Prix which had its record with 15.6 million euros ».