Novak Djokovic is heading to the Italian Open Final. Even better, he secured his spot in record fashion after beating Casper Ruud in the semifinal for his 1000th ATP victory.

It was indeed a day to remember for the Serbian star, who had been in the headlines earlier in the year over his COVID-19 vaccine stance that led to his deportation and absence from the Australian Open. Clearly, he's back to his usual groove and nearing peak level with his masterclass performance against the Norwegian fifth seed.

Djokovic beat Ruud in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3, to set his date with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Italian Open Final. Of course the 34-year-old had to celebrate his historic milestone as well:

Novak Djokovic is only the fifth player to reach the 1000-win club, joining the likes of Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Rafael Nadal. It is also worth noting that 231 of his 1000 career wins are against Top 10 players, which is an insane display of dominance to say the least.

“I've seen Roger and Rafa celebrate those milestones in the last couple of years and I was looking forward to get 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,” Djokovic said, via ATP.

Sure enough, Djokovic can't celebrate yet with a major threat in Tsitsipas waiting in the finale. He hasn't won anything since his Australian Open disaster, so hopes are high he can give a fitting conclusion to what has already been a historic Italian Open tournament for him.