Novak Djokovic has continued his unbeaten run in Grand Slam tournaments this year by ousting Italy’s Matteo Berrettini to win the Wimbledon Championships.
The world No.1 valiantly battled his way to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, victory and has become the third man in history to win a 20th Grand Slam title. Drawing level with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It is also the sixth time in Djokovic’s career he has won the prestigious grasscourt title which is the fourth highest tally of all time among male players. In his latest final against Berrettini the Serbian secured his career milestone with the help of five aces and 31 winners.
“Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream of mine when I was a kid. I have told this story many times but I have to repeat it to remind myself how special this is and not take it for granted,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview.
“I was a seven year-old boy in Serbia constructing materials to make a (Wimbledon) trophy and today standing with a sixth Wimbledon (trophy), it’s incredible.”
In what was an historic encounter for both players, their clash began with a dramatic 71-minute opener which saw the Italian underdog valiantly battle back from a 2-5 deficit. Defending champion Djokovic was the first to draw blood just four games into the match after hitting a forehand winner to set him up with a break point opportunity to move ahead 3-1. He managed to convert with the help of a deep shot towards the baseline which forced another mistake to be made by his rival.
Despite the top seed taking the early lead, Berrettini managed to weather the storm as he bounced back to draw level. After surviving a marathon eight-deuce game where he fended off a set point, he broke back in the following game en route to levelling proceedings at 5-5. Prompting an eruption of cheers from the Centre Court crowd. With little to distinguish between the two, the theme of momentum changes continued into the tiebreak.
After failing to maintain an early 3-0 lead, Berrettini’s decisive strike occurred with the help of a blistering forehand winner which granted him another mini break for 5-3 but this time he managed to hold. After punishing Djokovic for a questionable drop shot to earn his first set point, he closed out the marathon opener with an enormous 138mph ace.
It was a case of deja vu in the second frame with Djokovic once again starting off guns blazing after a lapse in his opponent’s concentration enabled him to surge to a 5-1 lead with relative ease. However, he was still far from his best and it showed when it came to the clunch points. Some uncharacteristic shot-making out of nowhere brought Berrettini back into contention as he won three games in a row but this time Djokovic held his nerve to level the final a set apiece.
Coming from behind is something that has never fazed Djokovic who has previously won six major titles after dropping the first set throughout his career. Although it wasn’t just the world No.9 he had to deal with, it was the crowd who continued their vocal support for Berrettini. The situation fired up Djokovic even more who got an early break during the third set due to a backhand unforced error from his opponent before closing in on the lead. He achieved the turnaround with the tactic of slowing the pace of his shots in order to draw more errors from across the court. This was evident during the last game of the third set with three of the last four points being decided by a Berrettini mistake.
Closing in on victory was far from simple thanks to Berrettini’s resilience on the court. Midway through the fourth set a Berrettini double fault granted Djokovic his fifth and most critical break to move him to two games from victory. He would go on to prevail on his third match point after a 15-shot rally concluded with a Berrettini slice crashing into the net. Prompting a jubilant Djokovic to collapse onto the ground after 203 minutes of pulsating play.
“Novak, he’s writing the history of this sport and deserves all credit. I’m really happy with my final and hopefully it is not going to be my last one here,” Berrettini said afterwards.
“It’s such an honour to be here and it is an unbelievable feeling. I had such a great run over the two weeks and also before at Queen’s. I couldn’t ask for more.”
The victory gives Djokovic the chance to overtake both Nadal and Federer for most major titles won by an ATP player later this year at the US Open. Reflecting on his rivalry with the two tennis giants, he believes they have made him a better player over the years.
“They are legends of our sport and they are the most important players that I have ever faced in my career. I think the reason that I am where I am today is because they helped me realise what I needed to do to improve,” he said.
“When I broke into the top 10 for the first three, four years I lost to these two guys. Then something shifted at the end of 2010 and the last 10 years have been an incredible journey which is not stopping here.”
Djokovic is also still on course to achieve a calendar Grand Slam which has only been achieved by a select few in the sports history.
“I’m going to definitely give it my best shot. I’m in great form and playing my best tennis at Grand Slams is my highest priority right now,” he concluded.
