World No.1 Novak Djokovic has bounced back from his humbling exit at the US Open by winning the Italian Open in Rome.
Djokovic overcame a sluggish start to lift his fifth Italian Open title, defeating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-5 6-3 for a record 36th ATP Masters crown.
Playing his maiden ATP 1000 final, eighth seed Schwartzman raced out of the blocks to convert two break point opportunities for a 3-0 lead as Djokovic struggled to put a lid on his backhand errors.
An on-and-off drizzle at Foro Italico added to Djokovic's frustration, but he still found a way past Schwartzman's serve to draw level at 3-3.
Djokovic's relentless baseline hitting came to the fore when he broke Schwartzman in the 12th game to take the opening set, despite committing 18 unforced errors.
Schwartzman, who outplayed defending champion Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals, snatched another early break in the second set, but this time Djokovic was quick to respond.
The top seed stepped up the intensity to break Schwartzman's serve twice before serving out the match comfortably to seal the victory.
The result also comes as a relief for Djokovic, who was desperate to return to court this week following his US Open disqualification for inadvertently striking a line judge with a ball.
Heading into next week's French Open, Djokovic has now won 31 of his 32 matches this season, and will be one of the favourites in Paris alongside 12-times winner Rafa Nadal and newly-crowned US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
On the women's side, top seed Simona Halep gave her French Open preparations a boost when she claimed the Italian Open after second seed Karolina Pliskova retired from the final with injury when she was down 6-0 2-1.
The victory gave Halep her first title in Rome and her third consecutive title of the year after wins in Dubai - before the COVID-19 hiatus - and Prague last month.
Pliskova attempted to continue playing after receiving treatment on her lower back and leg between sets, but eventually decided to retire, not willing to take any chances before the French Open which begins on September 28.
"I know that's not the way how Karolina wanted to finish the tournament and the final," Halep said at the trophy presentation ceremony.
"Good luck in the French Open, hopefully we will meet again there in the final.
"Finally, after two finals I could win this title. I love this tournament and I'm really happy that I have this beautiful trophy in my hands now," she added, having lost the final in 2017 and 2018.
Halep raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set, breaking the Czech defending champion three times and the Romanian also saved three break points at 0-40 down in the fourth game.
Halep, who even shook off a hard fall in the second game, was at her aggressive and disciplined best while Pliskova looked sluggish with her on-court movement, failing to hit a single winner as she was bagelled in 20 minutes.
The limited number of fans allowed into Foro Italico's centre court urged Pliskova to make it a contest, applauding the rare points she got on the scoreboard, and it seemed to work as the second set started with the pair breaking each other.
However, Pliskova was clearly struggling with the injury and retired after she was broken for a fifth time to give Halep the trophy.
Halep, who chose to skip the hardcourt swing in the United States to practice on clay, will head to Roland Garros as one of the firm favourites with world No.1 Ash Barty and US Open champion Naomi Osaka both skipping the tournament this year.
Reuters
