Novak Djokovic Wins Sixth Wimbledon Title

• Beats Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
• 20th tennis major title now in his kitty
• Needs US Open for the Grand Slam record

Serbian tennis maestro, Novak Djokovic has never been afraid to speak out his ambitions for the world to hear. That was true when he was a novice on the tour and to many his self-confidence was misplaced, and it has maintained deep into his 30s as he has chased down the singular goal of becoming the greatest player of his time, making no secret of what he thought he could achieve.

Over the past 13 and a half years since his marathon began, so much of what Djokovic has meticulously planned for has and continues to be realised. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest steps of his career, recovering from a set down against a valiant Matteo Berrettini to win 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch his men’s record-equalling 20th grand slam title.

Djokovic has now won the first three grand slam titles of 2021 and is one title away from completing the grand slam. Above all, Djokovic has finally caught up to his great rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, rising to join them on an apt three-way tie of 20 grand slam titles. But Djokovic has risen to 20 with a bullet and he does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Despite issues with his second serve, Djokovic established a 5-2 lead in the opening set. But Berrettini slowly found his way into the match, saving a set point, hammering forehands, and disrupting Djokovic with his delicate backhand slice. After rallying to reach a tiebreak, Berrettini closed the set out with a 138 mph ace down the middle.

While it was a supreme recovery from Berrettini, maintaining his high level was another task altogether. He immediately struggled as Djokovic consolidated a 4-0 lead in the second set, the world number one making small positive adjustments while Berrettini’s level fell off a cliff.

Although the Italian recovered his level by the end, Djokovic held firm. Djokovic took an early break in the third set after a loose service game from Berrettini and then held on to take two sets to one lead. But Berrettini kept on toiling, holding serve early in the fourth set before making his move at 3-2 on Djokovic’s serve.

He led 0-30 and then buried a forehand in the corner, only for Djokovic to recover with a tremendous exhibition of his defence. The world No 1 then flitted through four games in a row to win his 20th grand slam title.