‘I’ve seen them celebrate those milestones…’ Novak Djokovic relieved after joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the 1000 wins club
Follow Us
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Roger Federer
World No.1 Novak Djokovic registered his 1000th career win on Saturday after beating Casper Ruud in the semifinal of the 2022 Rome Masters. In doing so, he advanced to his 55th Masters Final and 125th career final. He has now become the 5th man in tennis history to win 1000 career matches. Only Jim Courier, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl, and Rafael Nadal are ahead of him on the list.
After his victory, the tournament organizers felicitated Djokovic for his incredible achievement by cutting a huge cake. Djokovic, later in the on-court address thanked everyone for their continued support. He said that he had seen his arch-rivals- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal celebrate their 1000th win in the last few years. Federer recorded his 1000th win back in 2015 when he defeated Milos Raonic in the final of the Brisbane International while Nadal registered his 1000th win in Bercy Masters 2020.
Djokovic expressed his gratitude and said that he is really really blessed to have so many victories on the tour. He was hopeful of getting many more in the near future.
“I’ve seen Roger and Rafa celebrate those milestones in the last couple of years and I was looking forward to getting to that 1,000 myself. I’m really, really blessed and privileged to have that many victories on the Tour. It’s been a long time, ever since I won my first match on the Tour. Hopefully, I can keep going, and many more victories to come,” he said.
Novak Djokovic analyzes his victory over Casper Ruud
Djokovic defeated Ruud in straight sets 6-4,6-3 to book his place in the 12th Italian Open Final. He said that he played very well in the match and barring a small hiccup in the second set, he was in control throughout the match.
“I thought I played very well,” Djokovic said. “Started fantastic, 4-0. Then I did slow down a bit. I did drop my level and I wasn’t feeling that great on the court for about 15, 20 minutes. He used that and managed to get himself back in the first set. It was important to close it out in the 10th game, clinch the first set.”
“Second set it was a close couple of games in the beginning, but I always felt like I was in his service games, always had chances,” Djokovic added. “I felt I played really, really well in the first four games, the last four games of the match. Hopefully, I can take that level into tomorrow’s final.”
Also Read: List of records broken by Novak Djokovic with his 1000th career win
Stay Updated!
Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)