World No. 1 Novak Djokovic lifted his sixth Italian Open trophy on Sunday and acknowledged the win has come at just the right time.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion beat Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6 (5) in Rome to win his first trophy of the season and a record-extending 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown.

"I've pleasantly surprised myself I can say, " said Djokovic. 

"Even though I had a clear game plan and strategy coming into the match, I know what was expected of me from the other side, so I knew what I had to do. I did play a perfect set, no doubt about it. After that it was a little bit tight at the second for me and he used it. At this level, one or two points can turn a match around and he was back in the game. 4-1 up for him and 30-40, the match could have easily gone into a third set, but somehow I managed to find the right shots at the right time in the second set and comeback into the game. The tie-breaker, I was just an inch better. Maybe calmer, but it was a tight tie-break for both of us certainly."

The top seed, who will spend a record-extending 370th week at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings from Monday, now leads the Greek 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series and holds a 5-0 record against the 23-year-old on clay.

The 34-year-old Serbian will be one of the favorites as he chases a record-equaling 21st Grand Slam at the French Open, which starts on May 22 in Paris.

"Yesterday, two days ago I played great so... I have been building my form in the last couple of weeks and like the previous years I knew that my best shape on the clay is usually coming around Rome time. So, it couldn't be a better time of year coming into Roland Garros, with a title in this wonderful tournament." The world No. 1 looked forward to his French Open campaign later this month.

(With input from AP)