Djokovic adds clay-court title in Rome to his growing collection of big wins

The Associated Press

Published: May 11, 2008

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ROME: Novak Djokovic already displayed his prowess on hard courts this season. Now, he's shown he's capable of dominating on clay too.

Djokovic won the 10th title of his career Sunday, rallying to beat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters.

"I was aiming for Rome and Roland Garros as my two priorities on clay courts this season," Djokovic said. "Now I have more confidence approaching big events on clay, and other surfaces as well."

This tournament was an important clay-court warmup for the French Open, which begins in two weeks.

The third-ranked Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam title, then captured the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, California, in March.

Djokovic's third victory of 2008 will move him within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

"This year has been like a dream for me, but I want to continue. I want to finish the year as No. 1 — in the race," Djokovic said with a big grin, as if he was almost amused at his own precociousness.

Djokovic is already on top of the ATP Race rankings, which coincide with the actual rankings at the end of the year.

Djokovic, who will turn 21 later this month, has been winning more than top-ranked Roger Federer and Nadal lately. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open to end 2007, and has followed his win in Melbourne by taking two of the four Masters Series events this year so far.

Nadal was upset by Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round in Rome, and Federer fell to Radek Stepanek in the quarterfinals.

"Everybody got used to Federer and Nadal playing the finals of every major event," Djokovic said. "Mentally, they're struggling because there is so much pressure and so much expectation that they have to be in the final on every surface and in every tournament that they play."

Djokovic faced pressure Sunday as the favorite against Wawrinka, who was playing his first Masters Series final.

"If I really want to stay on the top of men's tennis, I need to get used to those things," Djokovic said.

Djokovic improved to 8-1 on clay this season and 25-5 overall. At the Monte Carlo Masters last month, Djokovic retired from his semifinal match with Federer due to strep throat.

The Serb showed no signs of sickness this week, although many other players did.

Both Djokovic and Wawrinka advanced to the final when their semifinal opponents retired. First, Andy Roddick pulled out with a back problem against Wawrinka, then Stepanek quit with apparent heat stroke against Djokovic.

Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent, Nicolas Almagro, also withdrew with a wrist problem.

Djokovic did not face a seeded player all week, registering wins against Steve Darcis and Igor Andreev in his opening two matches.

Despite the loss, Wawrinka will move to 10th when the new rankings come out Monday. With Federer, it will mark the first time two Swiss players have been in the top 10.

"I'm a little surprised," said Wawrinka, who entered the week ranked 24th. "It's a big jump for me."

The 22-year-old Wawrinka was the French Open junior champion in 2003.

Djokovic broke Wawrinka's serve in the opening game of the third set when Wawrinka hit a backhand long after a 20-stroke rally.

Trailing 2-3 in the third, Wawrinka called for a trainer and had his lower back treated. He came back and didn't appear to struggle, but Djokovic maintained his lead and broke again to close out the match in little more than 2 hours.

"He's always staying in the game," Wawrinka said. "It doesn't matter what the score is or what has happened in the game, he's always staying (focused) and trying."

After losing the first set, Djokovic started attacking the net more.

"That's what I've been working on the last couple of months — varying my game more so I can go to the net and stay back, play defensively and offensively at the same time," he said.

Both players committed 33 unforced errors, but Djokovic led 29-18 in winners.

"This is one of the best tournaments I've won," Djokovic said in fluent Italian after receiving the winner's trophy from four-time Rome champion Gabriela Sabatini.

Djokovic was asked on the victory stand to perform his renowned imitations of other players. He declined, later explaining that he didn't like it when other players looked at the imitations "negatively."

"This is not what I do best. What I do best is I win on the court in tennis," Djokovic said. "That's what I'll try to do in the next 10, 15 years."