Djokovic Subdues Unseeded Wawrinka for ATP Rome Crown

It was the 13th consecutive ATP Masters Series final to feature one of the three highest ranked players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. It was Djokovic's 10th ATP singles title and he improves to 10-3 in ATP singles finals. The world No. 3 now collects 500 South African Airways Ranking points and moves to within 310 points of No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who now has 5,435 points.

The 20-year-old Djokovic claimed his third ATP Masters Series title earlier in the season in Indian Wells (d. Fish). Last year, the Serb won his first two ATP Masters Series shields in Miami (d. Canas) and Montreal (d. No. 3 Roddick, No. 2 Nadal, No. 1 Federer). He now improves to 4-1 in career AMS finals and to 45-18 in overall AMS play.

Djokovic improves to 25-5 for the season. At the beginning of 2008 he captured his first Grand Slam title at the Aussie Open, defeating No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals before overcoming Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

"I tried to stay focused all the time because the role of the favorite in these kind of big matches is not easy to cope with," said Djokovic. "I didn't think that I'm going to play in the final
against a player who's unseeded, but obviously he deserved to be there. He showed his quality."

Wawrinka, who defeated two Top 10 players in No. 8 James Blake and No. 6 Andy Roddick, was bidding to become the first unseeded Masters Series winner since David Nalbandian won back-to-back in Madrid and Paris last year. With his compatriot Federer ranking at No. 1, it is the first time that two Swiss players have ranked in the Top 10 at the same time in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973). His lone title (1-5 record in finals) came in July 2006 at Umag where his opponent Djokovic retired during the title match.
-- ATP