"Every time I get the chance to fight for a trophy there, it is always a thrill" - Novak Djokovic looks back at his epic title run at 2014 Italian Open
There are many tournaments on the ATP circuit where Novak Djokovic has tasted success time and again. The Italian Open is one of the tournaments at the very top of that list.
Djokovic has won the Rome title five times already. One of his triumphs in the Italian capital came in 2014, when he defeated his great rival Rafael Nadal in the final.
In a recent interview with the ATP, the Serbian ace sat down to reminisce about his epic win for which he had to work extremely hard.
"It is one of the biggest tournaments in the world, no doubt," he said. "Of course, every time I get the chance to fight for a trophy there, it is always a thrill.
"I always had a lot of support in Rome. Center Court - one of the most stunning centre courts in the tennis world," he added. "That kind of surface where it's unpredictable. It's that kind of surface where if you drop your serve, it's not that big a deal as dropping your serve on a fast hard court."
Djokovic's run in the 2014 edition began with a straight-sets win over Radek Stepanek before a tight battle with German Philipp Kohlschreiber. He had a tough draw from the get-go and shed some light on the kind of challenges he faced right from the start of the tournament on the most demanding surface in tennis.
"Clay is kind of a surface in which you have to earn every single point and every single victory," he explained. "I had three or four three-set matches in the entire tournament. I remember the one against Kohlschreiber - claycourt specialist and a lot of top spins. Just grinding my way through those matches, very physical battles."
Djokovic then faced David Ferrer, a player he termed "one of the greatest competitors" that he has ever faced. The Serbian superstar said he felt a new surge of confidence after beating Ferrer 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on clay, in that 2014 Rome campaign.
Continuing his pursuit of a third Rome title, Djokovic next won a tough semifinal against Canadian Milos Raonic 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3 in his third straight three-set battle of the week. The Serb said that even though he was feeling the effects of multiple long matches, he was still ready to take on Nadal.
"When I managed to overcome that match (vs Raonic), going into the final against Rafa (Nadal), even though I wasn't the freshest, I felt I was ready for another battle," he said.
Facing Rafael Nadal in a final on clay is considered one of the toughest tasks in tennis, and the Serb admitted to the same. However, he knew he had to produce one more epic performance to get the job done against his great rival.
"He (Rafa) always comes very hot off the blocks," Djokovic said. "Most of his matches, particularly on clay, he gets an early break and just brings so much intensity to the court. Just full top-spins right from the start. It's hard to deal with those balls, it takes a little bit of time to adapt and to adjust to it.
"If you can weather the first storm, then you might have a chance to win it," he added. "You know you're going to have a lot of breaks of serve if you're playing Nadal. I wasn't too concerned about that..I liked my chances."
The-then World No. 2 lost the opening set against Nadal and made a comeback for the ages to win the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Rome has always been a special tournament for Djokovic and he set a staggering record earlier this week after reaching the quarterfinals, becoming the first player to make the last eight of a single Masters 1000 event on 16 straight occasions.
Novak Djokovic has reached 16 quarterfinals in a row in Rome.
Heckin', heckin' solid in the main draw here:
2007—QF
2008—🏆
2009—F
2010—QF
2011—🏆
2012—F
2013—QF
2014—🏆
2015—🏆
2016—F
2017—F
2018—SF
2019—F
2020—🏆
2021—F
2022—QF (and counting...)
How is Novak Djokovic shaping up ahead of the French Open?
The top-ranked player in the world started off slow in the claycourt season, but has picked up the pace pretty quickly.
After a second-round loss at Monte Carlo last month, he made a run to the final of his home event in Belgrade, before falling just short in a classic Madrid semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz.
16 Rome quarter-finals in 16 appearances 🤯
@DjokerNole defeats Wawrinka 6-2 6-2 to notch win No.998 of his career!
#IBI22 https://t.co/GVWYtssgK1
The two-time French Open champion's game has gone from strength to strength over the past few weeks. He is now chasing his sixth Rome title and a record-extending 38th Masters 1000 trophy and will head to Paris full of confidence ahead of the defense of his Roland Garros crown.