World number one Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles title at the Italian Open after defeating Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in straight sets,

World number one men’s singles player Novak Djokovic beat Diego Schwartzman in the final to win the Italian Open 2020 title in Rome on Monday, three weeks after completing his second Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open.

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Djokovic defeated Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 to win his record-breaking 36th ATP Masters 1000 crown. Rafael Nadal is second on the list with 35 titles.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Schwartzman squandered the opportunity to join 2016 champion Andy Murray and 2017 champion Alexander Zverev to become only the third Italian Open winner outside of Nadal and Djokovic since 2005.

“It was a great week, a very challenging week. I don’t think I played my best tennis throughout the entire week, but I think I found my best tennis when I needed it the most in the decisive moments today, yesterday (and in) practically every match,” said Djokovic after the match as per the ATP Tour website.

“That definitely makes me very satisfied and proud that I managed to find that fifth gear when it was most needed. Turning to Paris, I couldn’t ask for a better tournament here in Rome. Another big title and (I am) super pleased with it,” he added.

The world number one has now won 31 of his 32 matches this year. He has won four trophies from five events in 2020, following title runs at the Australian Open, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Western & Southern Open.

Winning this year’s first major clay-court competition will bolster Djokovic’s spirit ahead of the upcoming French Open, which was originally scheduled to start in May but had to be moved back because of the outbreak of novel coronavirus, is slated to be played from September 27 to October 11.

The 17-time Grand Slam winner would be desperate to win the French Open especially after the way he was ousted from the US Open. Djokovic was suspended during his Round of 16 match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium after violation of code of conduct after he hit an on-field official with a ball.