17th May, 2015
Novak Djokovic continued his good run Sunday when he lifted the Internazionali BNL d’Italia trophy for a fourth time, his fourth masters title in 2015.
The World No. 1 clinched his fifth title of the season with victory over second ranked Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3 in the Rome final. Djokovic is now 19-20 lifetime in their FedEx ATP head to head series.
Djokovic moved clear of Federer with his 24th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, just three shy of all-time titles leader Rafael Nadal on 27.
He has won four of the five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in 2015 and is riding a 22-match winning streak, with his last loss coming to Federer on 28 February in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final. This year, the Serbian is also 14-1 against Top 10 opponents in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
The run dates back to his title in Paris-Bercy last November.
Djokovic, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on 22 May, earned $628,100 in prize money and 1000 Emirates ATP Rankings points. He is now 35-2 on the season, which includes titles at the Australian Open (d. Murray), the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (d. Federer), the Miami Open presented by Itau in Miami (d. Murray) and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (d. Berdych).
Federer, who was competing in Rome for the 15th time, also finished runner-up in 2003 (l. to Felix Mantilla), 2006 and 2013 (l. to Nadal both times).
The Swiss walks away with $308,000 and 600 Emirates ATP Rankings points. He is now 85-44 in tour-level finals, including 23-18 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title matches.
*Culled from ATPWorldTour.com