Novak Djokovic Ranks Second Behind Rafael Nadal in Incredible Stat at Italian Open, Roger Federer at Third

Published 05/13/2021, 8:05 AM EDT

After struggling to find his best tennis in his opening round win over American Taylor Fritz, World No.1 Novak Djokovic put in a much-improved performance to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic has 57 wins in Rome; Rafael Nadal tops list with 64

Djokovic made short work of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, imposing himself on his opponent from the moment the chair umpire called ‘play’, pressing his foot on the pedal to canter to a 6-2, 6-1 win.

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The victory not only sealed his passage to the last eight but also put him on the second place in an all-time list of players with most wins in the tournament.

The emphatic win on Thursday was his 57th in Rome, second only to nine-time champion and eleven-time finalist Rafael Nadal, who tops the all-time tally with 64 victories.

Nadal came through a tough tournament opener against rising Italian star Jannik Sinner to record his 64th win on Wednesday.

Roger Federer is third on the list with 34 wins

Fellow Big 3 rival and 20-time Grand Slam Roger Federer sits on the all-time list with 34 career wins.

The Swiss has never won the tournament but has finished as the runners-up twice.

Occupying the fourth position on the list jointly is Romanian tennis great Ilie Nastase and Argentine stalwart Guillermo Vilas, with 33 wins apiece.

Among the other former stars featuring in the all-time list are Thomas in the eighth place with 28 wins, Jim Courier at No.10 with 25 match wins, Ivan Lendl at eleventh with victories and eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi in the 13th place with 24 career victories in Rome.

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Legends Yannick Noah, Mats Wilander, and Emilio Sanchez bring up the rear with 23 wins apiece.

Nadal has come into the event on the back of an indifferent run on clay this year, with two defeats at Monte-Carlo and Madrid and a 12th career title in Barcelona.

“Was Stressed Out”: Novak Djokovic Opens Up on Rain Break in Win Over Taylor Fritz at Italian Open 2021

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However, even if he were to go title-less this year and Djokovic defends the title, the Spaniard’s record for most wins would remain intact.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

Novak Djokovic Ranks Second Behind Rafael Nadal in Incredible Stat at Italian Open, Roger Federer at Third

Novak Djokovic has 57 wins in Rome; Rafael Nadal tops list with 64

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Roger Federer is third on the list with 34 wins