Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic put the disappointment of his US Open disqualification firmly behind him as he won the Italian Open in Rome, giving him a record ATP Masters 1000 title haul.
Appearing in his 10th final on the clay in Rome, Djokovic battled past Argentine eighth seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets, 7-5 6-3.
The title handed the Serb a record 36th Masters 1000 crown, edging him one ahead of fellow great Rafael Nadal on the all-time list, with Swiss legend Roger Federer further behind on 28 titles.
Number one seed Djokovic was forced to scrap hard against Schwartzman as the Argentine opened up a 3-0 lead in the first set, before Djokovic picked up four games in a row to get proceedings back on serve.
The Serb then broke decisively in game 12 to take a hard-fought set 7-5.
The start of the second set saw the pair exchange breaks before Djokovic wrestled control by breaking to love in game eight and then serving out the match to win a fifth title in Rome.
The win will provide some comfort for Djokovic, 33, after his controversial exit from the US Open earlier this month, where he was defaulted from his last 16 match against Pablo Carreno Busta when he unintentionally struck a line judge with the ball.
Disqualification aside, Djokovic is unbeaten in 2020 and his attention will now turn to the clay courts of Roland-Garros and the French Open, where he will be bidding for an 18th Grand Slam title.
Spanish ‘king of clay’ Rafael Nadal, a 12-time winner in the French capital, suffered a shock early exit in Rome, falling to Schwartzman in the quarterfinals.
