ROME: Third seed Novak Djokovic pounced on a series of unforced errors from Stanislas Wawrinka to win the Rome Masters yesterday.

Djokovic claimed a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over his Swiss opponent, who ended the most remarkable week of his career with a breakout performance that will take him up among the top ten when the ATP rankings are announced today.

"This is one of the best tournaments I've won," Djokovic said in fluent Italian after receiving the winner's trophy from four-time Rome champion Gabriela Sabatini.

Djokovic's third victory of 2008 will move him within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

Djokovic acknowledged that he is a contender to become No 1.
"I hope so. But I don't want to think about No 1 yet," he said. "I know a lot of people will start talking now about me being one of the best players. Let's see. I'm taking it as it comes."

Wawrinka looked like dealing Djokovic a disheartening defeat on the clay of the Foro Italico, where both finalists made it through the day before due to the withdrawal of opponents.

Wawrinka spent only about 20 minutes on court in his semi-final before American sixth seed Andy Roddick succumbed to a back problem with the score at 3-0 in the first set.

Djokovic played for a bit longer but he was 6-0, 1-0 up on Radek Stepanek, who the previous day had eliminated world number one Roger Federer, when the Czech decided he was too weak to continue.

But Djokovic gathered up his game to break once on the second set on his way to restoring order, then began the third with another break after a 20-shot exchange before concluding with one more after the Swiss saved a match point.

"I wanted to stay focused and positive," Djokovic said. "The important thing today was doing the right things at the right times."

Wawrinka, who began the tournament at 24th in the world, will stand ninth today, guaranteeing the 22-year-old from Lausanne is seeded at the French Open in a fortnight. -- AFP