Novak Djokovic has finished at the apex of the ATP charts for a record 425 weeks, 115 longer than the second longest-lasting on the chart, Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic has also finished the year as the world number one, a record of eight times, two ahead of the great Pete Sampras, and three ahead of the other two members of the Big Three, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Novak Djokovic also holds the record of 24 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, 40 Masters, and seven ATP Finals. He’s also the player who’s won the Rome Open the second-highest number of times with six titles, four less than Rafael Nadal’s 10 titles.
Novak Djokovic Rattled By World Number 32
After breezing through the second round against a below-par Corentin Moutet, Novak Djokovic was paired with world number 32, Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday, the 12th of May.
Tabilo broke Novak Djokovic’s first serve of the first set after the world number one served one too many double faults. In the third game of the set, the Chilean came out firing again and hit a fiery forehand winner down the line to secure a double break on the Serbian legend.
Tabilo had Novak Djokovic on the ropes for most of the set and after a flawless service game in the eighth game of the set, he served out the set to win 6-2.
The second set was as underwhelming for the world number one as the first set was. Novak Djokovic went on to hand Alejandro Tabilo the set in the ninth game of the set with his third double fault of the set, and fifth of the match.
Novak Djokovic lost the match 2-6, 3-6, giving Alejandro Tabilo the biggest win of his career. The Serbian tennis legend will undergo medical tests after being hit on the head by a metal bottle after his victory over Corentin Moutet.
Other Top Seeds Earned Routine Wins On Sunday
The number three seed, Alexander Zverev, defeated the fans’ favorite, Luciano Darderi, 7-6, 6-2, in what started as a tense encounter.
The top seed didn’t face a single break point in the first set as he served up six aces in an excellent performance. He dominated the Italian at the net, winning 11 of his 14 net points.
The second set was much easier for the German. He smashed six aces, 11 winners, and two break points to win the set 6-2.
Grigor Dimitrov also defeated Terence Atmane 7-6, 6-3. Their contest was tight with the Bulgarian dominating the Frenchman at the net with 11 points, 10 points more than the Frenchman managed all through the match, and 19 winners.
Two Americans, Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, clashed on Sunday in a match largely dominated by Taylor Fritz. The number 11 seed didn’t face a single break point en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Karen Khachanov defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4 in their third-round encounter. Although the Argentine dominated the Russian at the net, his double faults let him down.
Another American, the 21-year-old Ben Shelton, lost to Chinese Zhizhen Zhang 6-2, 6-4. The American’s four aces were eclipsed by his six double faults and adding the Chinese’s domination at the net and his fiery winners, the American was no match on the day.
Also Read: Rome Open Bids Farewell To Legendary 10-Time Champion
Madrid Open Winner Knocked Out By Qualifier
After overcoming four consecutive losses to win the Madrid Open, Andrey Rublev entered the Rome Open in fiery form, defeating Marcos Giron in the second round.
Things didn’t go according to plan today for the number four seed as Alexandre Muller made him his fifth casualty after Emilio Nava, Radu Albot, Marton Fucsovics, and Arthur Fils. Although the Russian took the first set 6-3, he lost the second and third sets, 3-6, 2-6, due to his recurrent double faults and unforced errors.
Cameron Norrie’s 6-2, 7-6 loss to Stefano Tsitsipas made it his second consecutive third-round clay court loss since losing to Casper Ruud in the third round of the Madrid Open. Tsitsipas was excellent with his backhand and drop shots as he swept off the British man in the first set in 33 minutes.
The second set was more evenly matched than the first set, but a tie-break in which the Greek dominated 7-1 ended up separating them.
Australian Alex De Minaur also defeated Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Auger-Aliassime should’ve had a good game if it wasn’t marred by errors. He dominated the Australian in a lot of metrics. His five aces were eclipsed by 13 double faults. His 16 net points and 27 winners were also eroded by 40 unforced errors.
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Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
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