The best match of the year
Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final
Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down to beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 6-3 after 3 hours and 23 minutes in the Championships final at Wimbledon and a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title. Djokovic tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles.
Djokovic converted his second break point of the match to take a 2-1 lead, but he missed a set point at 5-2 and was not able to serve out in the next game, as Berrettini pulled back on serve before winning the tie-break 7-4 with an ace to claim the first set after 70 minutes.
Djokovic made just four unforced errors in the second set and broke Berrettini’s serve twice in the first and third games. Berrettini pulled one break back and came back from 0-40 to fend off three set points in the ninth game at 3-5, but Djokovic held at love to win the second set.
Djokovic broke serve to take a 2-1 lead in the third set when Berrettini missed a backhand slice into the net. Berrettini missed two chances at 2-3 to get back on serve, but he missed two consecutive passing shots. Djokovic cruised through to winning the third set.
Berrettini was close to earning two break points at 3-2 30-15 in the fourth set, but Djokovic was able to hold his serve. The Serbian player earned a break point at 3-3 with a crosscourt forehand winner and converted it after a double fault from Berrettini. Djokovic held his final two service games to claim his sixth Wimbledon title.
Novak Djokovic: “Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream for me when I was a kid. I have to pay tribute to Rafa and Roger. They are legends of our sport and the two greatest players I have faced. They are the reason why I am where I am today. They made me realise what I had to do to get stronger, mentally, physically and tactically. The last ten years have been an incredible journey that is not stopping here”.
Matteo Berrettini: I am really happy with the final and hopefully it will not my last one here or in a Grand Slam tournament. I am so honoured to be here and it’s been a really great run for two weeks. I also won the Queen’s. I could no task for more”.
The best national team: Russia
The Russian Team Federation started the 2021 season with their triumph over Italy in the final of the ATP Cup in Australia and crowned a very successful year with their triumph in the Davis Cup final against Croatia. The Russian team featured four top 30 players: Danil Mevedev (world number 2), Andrey Rublev (world number 5), Aslan Karatsev (world number 18) and Karen Khachanov (orld number 29). The RTF equalled the Czech Republic and Germany for seventh place on the all-time list most Davis Cup titles.
Russian tennis also won the women’s Billie Jean King title and the men’s Junior Davis Cup last October. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo Karen Khachanov won the silver medal in the men’s singles tournament. Rublev and Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova won the mixed doubles gold medal. Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina took the silver in the mixed doubles tournament.
Andrey Rublev: “Team competition is alway special. Here at the Davis Cup or Olympic Games we have to be together almost every day, eat together, have breakfast together, spend time together. This is something special that we are missing and we don’t really have time to do during the rest of the year. These kind of events give us this chance. It’s a great feeling because then you have a lot of memories. This is the most important thing”.
