ROME: World number one Novak Djokovic earned his 1,000th tour-level victory by beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-3 yesterday to reach the Italian Open final.
Djokovic will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the title clash today, with the Serbian playing in the final in Rome for the fourth straight time and 12th overall.
It will be a repeat of last year’s French Open final, which Djokovic won after fighting back from two sets down.
The 34-year-old is only the fifth man in the Open Era to reach the 1,000 wins milestone after Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Rafa Nadal.
World number five Tsitsipas reached the Rome final for the first time after the Greek rallied to defeat Germany’s Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
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