Novak Djokovic wins Men's Singles event in Italian Open

In tennis, world number one Novak Djokovic won a record 36th Masters title by beating Diego Schwartzman in the Italian Open at Rome last night.

The Serb, playing in his first tournament since being disqualified from this month's US Open, won 7-5, 6-3 in the final to ensure he goes into next week's French Open on a high.

Djokovic, drew level with Rafael Nadal last month on the all-time list of Masters winners with his Western and Southern Open title, but is now clear. The French Open starts on Sunday, with Nadal seeking



a record-extending 13th men's singles title in Paris.

Djokovic has also passed childhood idol Pete Sampras for the second-most weeks at No. 1 with 287 - trailing only Roger Federer’s 310 weeks in the top spot.

Earlier, top-seeded Simona Halep of Romania won her first Italian Open title when defending champion Czech Karolína Pliskova retired midway through the final with an injury. Halep was leading 6-0, 2-1 when Czech player Pliskova stopped playing after just 31 minutes.