Simona Halep and Novak Djokovic conquer Rome

Simona Halep and Novak Djokovic conquer Rome in 2020. Novak won his fifth while Simona her first Italian Open after losing the 2017 and 2018 finals. The fifth at Rome bumped Novak to an all time high of 36 Masters 1000 titles.

Djokovic’s path to victory

Novak ran down a tired Diego Shwartzman 7-5, 6-3 in the finals. Diego hardly stood a chance in the match. And, never a hope after dropping the first. With the win, Novak improved to 5-0 against Diego.

Only Koepfer in the quarters could make a match against Novak. The German extended the Serb to three but lacked the experience to finish, someone as accomplished as, Novak. The semifinal, against Rudd, was nothing short of routine for Djokovic.

Diego, however, suffered three long sets against Hurkacz, the Pole, in the third. He recovered to take out the King of clay, Nadal, in the quarters, only to go three tough sets against Shapovalov in the semis. Diego, therefore, had his fill, of tennis, by the time he finished with Shapovalov.

Novak Djokovic rules tennis nowadays

There ain’t no mountain high enough for Novak nowadays. He is the king of all that he surveys. 2020, in fact, should be rechristened the year of Djokovic and the Pandemic. He has now won 31 of his 32 matches this year, and defaulted for reckless behavior in the only one he did not! Others, including Rafa on the clay, exist only for an eventual beat down to exhaustion by the man himself. Finally, since the premature proclamation by Novak’s mother in 2008, it is time to acknowledge, all hail to the King! Such is the deplorable state of tennis nowadays. Bring back the days of the Grass and indoor specialists, dirt rats, and hard court finishers. Where is the variety?

Simona Halep skipped the US Open to rule the clay

An injured Pliskova was little match for Halep, who skipped the abbreviated hard court American tour and the US Open to prepare on the clay. Down 6-0, 2-1, Karolina Pliskova retired injured.

Simona was stretched to a third by Muguruza in the semis. The gritty Romanian, however, prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. And, Pliskova’s only three set challenge came in the quarters against Elsie Mertens, which Pliskova dusted off with a bagel in the third.

The women’s final was a let down for an obvious reason. Pliskova could barely function because of the injury.

“It’s not the way we want to finish a tournament, in the final, you played great this week,” Halep told Pliskova in the post match interview.

“I wish you a fast recovery and wish you good luck at the French Open, maybe we will meet again there in the final.”

Simona Halep and Novak Djokovic could make finals in the 2020 French Open

Both Simona Halep and Novak Djokovic stand a good shot at making finals in the 2020 French Open. Novak, however, is a shoe-in for the trophy. No one, not even Rafa, can stop Novak from taking home his second Coupe des Mousquetaires this year. Halep, on the other hand, will stand as good a chance as any in the WTA.