Staying dominant on clay, Novak Djokovic got his winning percentage up to 80% in the Italian Open. He is the only player in the open era to do so whether it is on grass, clay, or hard court. Djokovic achieved the feat when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov. The set scores were 6-3, 4-6, and 6-1 respectively. Along with this record improvement, he beats out Rafael Nadal to take the top spot. Djokovic now holds the all-time best winning percentage for a man in the Open era. His record of 1,050 wins to 209 losses outshines his Spanish rival's record of 1,068 wins to 220 losses. In addition, he also leads all-time greats like Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, and Jimmy Connors in this category.
That is not the only record Djokovic moved up the ladder in. His 1,050th win allowed him to be fifth in the open era most wins record books. He is only 18 wins behind the tie between Rafael Nadal and Ivan Lendl. The Serbian has a lot of ground to work up to in order to catch the top of the wins list. Jimmy Connors still headlines this statistic with 1,274 wins. Roger Federer is a distant second place with his 1,251 wins.
“I was very pleased that I managed to find again the right rhythm in the first game of the third set right away. That was super important to make a break early and kind of hold things under control.” Djokovic said via John Berkok of Tennis.com.
In the Italian Open's round of 16, Novak Djokovic will face 13th-seeded Cam Norrie. He aims to continue his dominance in this matchup as he is 2-0 against Norrie which includes wins in Wimbledon and the ATP Finals. Djokovic's record will only get better as time goes on.