In 2004, Novak Djokovic made his first ATP matches, and took his first victories when in September he won a three-seater against France's Arnaud Clement.
Today, almost 18 years later, he took victory number 1000. In Rome he won the semifinal against Norwegian Casper Ruud in two straight sets (6-4, 6-3) and is thus part of the exclusive 1000 winners club which previously only included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
- I have seen Roger and "Rafa" celebrate the milestone and have looked forward to doing it myself.
I am happy to have managed to achieve so many victories.
It has been a long time since I won the first match on the tour, but I hope I will win many more matches, the Serb said in a victory interview on the court shortly after the match.
"A tough match"
In the final, he will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he has not met since winning the final of the French Open last year.
- He has been among the two or three best players in the world in recent years, especially on gravel and always reaches the final in the biggest gravel tournaments.
So I know I can expect a tough match, says Djokovic, who got a big cake with the number 1000 on after his victory.
ARCHIVE: Here Djokovic juggles Neymar (April 12):
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Djokovic and Neymar met in Monte Carlo Photo: ATP Media