Italian Open 2022 score, winner and recap: Novak Djokovic clinches win No. 1000, makes record-extending 55th Masters 1000 final

Novak Djokovic joins exclusive 1000-wins club as he prevails over Casper Ruud in their semifinal clash in Rome.

Novak Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the Italian Open on Saturday to advance to a record-extending 55th Masters 1000 final in Rome.

Djokovic thus became just the fifth man in the Open Era to earn 1000 wins after Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is the oldest entrant into 1000-win club.

Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud Score

Djokovic downed Ruud, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to his fourth straight Italian Open final and 12th overall in 16 appearances. He is now one victory away from securing a record-extending 38th Masters 1000 crown.

Make that 1️⃣2️⃣ Rome finals for Djokovic 🙌

He defeats Ruud 6-4 6-3 & will face Tsitsipas on Sunday.

@DjokerNole | @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 https://t.co/W09XioNqeE

The Serb, who recently confirmed a record-extending 370th week as World No. 1 with a thrilling quarterfinal win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, set up a final showdown against Stefanos Tsitsipas. This will be their first meeting since the 2021 French Open final, where Novak Djokovic came back from two sets to love down to beat the Greek.

Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud Winner

With his win over Casper Rudd, Djokovic improved to 3-0 against the Norwegian.

Ruud, who reached his first Masters 1000 final in Miami last month, dropped to 5-16 record against top-10 opponents. Djokovic, meanwhile, notched a record-extending 231st win over a top-10 opponent (106 losses).

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1000 ATP MATCH WINS FOR @DjokerNole! https://t.co/owgTBVjHtm

Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud Recap

Djokovic seized control of the match early, roaring to a 3-0 lead as he broke Ruud twice.

The Norwegian finally got on the scoreboard as he held at love for 4-1. He sustained his momentum, rattling off 13 of the next 15 points to close in on Djokovic.

ONE SEVENTY SIX 🚀

@CasperRuud98 #IBI22 https://t.co/IDwXF3r86p

The World No. 1, however, eventually took the opener 6-4 on his second try.

This is just ridiculous 😲

@DjokerNole | @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI22 https://t.co/HvKxLR3hlP

Ruud started much better in the second set, going toe-to-toe with Djokovic and even saving three break points in the seventh game. But he committed with three straight errors to allow the Serb to convert his fourth break point of the game and gain a 4-3 lead.

Djokovic then went on to win the last two games to secure his spot in the final.