Novak Djokovic in Italian Open final with 1,000th win

Djokovic's historic 1,000th career win lifted him to the Italian Open final. IPA

Novak Djokovic reaches Italian Open final with 1,000th career win

By Adam Stites | Last updated 5/14/22

Novak Djokovic is the No. 1-ranked men's tennis player in the world, but he's still looking for his first tournament victory of 2022, and he'll get that chance Sunday against fifth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Italian Open final.

Djokovic earned his place in the final Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Casper Ruud. Earlier in the day, Tsitsipas beat Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

The victory for Djokovic was the 1,000th win of his career, a milestone only four other men (Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Rafael Nadal) have reached in the Open era.

The moment Djokovic made history (again) in Rome @DjokerNole | @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/0OWgp69xjP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 14, 2022

Djokovic's tumultuous 2022 began with deportation from Australia due to his vaccination status, which kept him from defending his Australian Open title. Since then, he has lost in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, the round of 32 in the Monte-Carlo Masters, the final of the Serbian Open and the semifinals of the Madrid Open.

Last year, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the Italian Open final.

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