Novak Djokovic is one match away from creating a remarkable moment in tennis history, when three active players would be tied with 20 Major singles titles, the most-ever in the men’s sport. And 20 is also the number of matches he’s won at Majors this year, leaving him only eight wins away from becoming the first man to win the calendar Grand Slam since 1969. He’s already defeated two Major-less challengers in Slam finals this season, and now a third stands in his way.
Matteo Berrettini is the first Italian man to reach the gentlemen’s championship match at Wimbledon, and the first to reach the final of any Major in 45 years. Berrettini achieved his first Slam semifinal two years ago in New York, but grass just may be his best surface. He’s claimed 23 of his last 25 matches on grass, and is 11-0 this season. But is he ready to deny Novak’s bid for tennis history?
The gentlemen’s singles championship will commence at 2:00pm local time on Centre Court, followed by the mixed doubles championship match, which features three Brits and one American. It will be Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk vs. Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart. Krawczyk and Salisbury won this year’s Roland Garros as a team, but will now be on opposite sides of the net.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Matteo Berrettini (7)
Since the beginning of last year, Djokovic is 78-8. And since this tournament three years ago, he’s an astonishing 72-4 at Majors, winning seven of 11 events. And out of those four losses, one saw him retire due to injury, and another saw him defaulted for hitting a lines judge with a ball. That error in judgment at last summer’s US Open was a huge missed opportunity for Novak to win a Slam where both Federer and Nadal were absent. He’ll be determined to not allow this opportunity to tie their Major tallies pass him by. He’s played like a man on a mission during this fortnight, claiming his last 18 sets played.
As Pam Shriver highlighted, Berrettini is the first male player to ever reach the Wimbledon final without playing any serve-and-volley points in the tournament. The 25-year-old’s serve and forehand are his combination of choice, exemplified by these semifinal stats: 22 aces with only 1 double fault, and 60 winners with only 18 unforced errors. However, his slice backhand has been extremely effective on the lawns of The All England Club. As per Darren Cahill, Matteo sliced his backhand just 30% of the time in his 2019 US Open semifinal against Nadal, but has done so 75% of the time during this event.
If Berrettini can maintain his service and winner/unforced error percentages, as well as the positive energy he has exhibited on court, he has a real chance of winning his first Major on Sunday. And that’s especially true if Djokovic tightens up, which seems inevitable with such history on the line. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 2-0, and they just met last month in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. That was an intense affair, with Berrettini nearly pushing Djokovic to a fifth set.
On this surface, Matteo’s power would seemingly provide him with a better chance of upsetting the five-time champion. But Djokovic is the best returner of all-time, and he’ll certainly apply plenty more pressure to Berrettini’s service games than Matteo has experienced thus far. It’s also worth noting the Italian’s path to this championship match did not include any top 10 players, and he is 1-4 against the top 10 this season, with his only victory coming over Dominic Thiem in February’s ATP Cup. By contrast, Djokovic has prevailed in seven of his last eight Major finals, all of them against the top 10. And he’s 5-1 in the gentlemen’s singles championship match at Wimbledon, with his only loss coming eight years ago at the hands of Andy Murray. This should be a second competitive singles final this weekend, but it’s another where the world No.1 remains the favorite to be victorious.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
