Wimbledon victory number six means Grand Slam title number 20 for Novak Djokovic and the setting of the record for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Serb does not seem to be stopping on the way to further tennis feats at the moment.
The longed-for record now also belongs to Novak Djokovic, the path to becoming the best tennis player in history is not far. With his sixth Wimbledon victory, the world number one, like his long-time rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, now has an incredible 20 Grand Slam titles on the account. Djokovic had to fight hard on the big sports Sunday in London before the 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 4, 6: 4, 6: 3 against the Italian debutant Matteo Berrettini was perfect.
Djokovic is only two more steps away from a major achievement that is unique in the men’s field. Should the 34-year-old win Olympic gold in Tokyo in three weeks and then clear the US Open trophy, he would have made the Golden Slam. So far only Steffi Graf has succeeded in 1988. The so-called Grand Slam – winning the four most important tournaments in one season – was last achieved by Australian Rod Laver in 1969. His compatriot Margaret holds the all-time record with 24 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic initially looked unusually nervous
The world number one Ashleigh Barty won the women’s title for the first time on Saturday. The 25-year-old defeated the Czech Karolina Pliskova 6: 3, 6: 7 (4: 7), 3: 6 and was the first Australian to triumph since 1980. The German talent Nastasja Schunk missed the junior title.
Djokovic initially looked unusually nervous in his 30th Grand Slam final. The outstanding player of this year had emphasized after his semi-finals how much the record of his rivals Federer and Nadal means to him. The number one in the world made several double mistakes, but Berrettini went unpunished.
Italy was represented in an individual final at Wimbledon for the first time when it came ninth in the world rankings, and the last men’s Grand Slam title was 45 years ago. It seemed as if the 1.96 meter long underdog would have to deal with himself for the first time in his biggest match to date.
The audience cheered on Berrettini
Djokovic had a set ball at 5-2. But he missed that as well as the chance to get the set at 5: 3 with his own serve. Now Berrettini had reached the final and actually won the tiebreak with an ace. But the number one continued to play unmoved after the first deficit since the opening match, his opponent fell into the mistakes from the beginning. It was 5: 1 for Djokovic, then he wobbled again, missed three set balls at 5: 3 and finally equalized.
One month after his success in the quarter-final duel against Berrettini at the French Open, the Belgrade player then made the first break again in sun and clouds in front of the 15,000 fans on Center Court. Djokovic kept this lead because he now served strongly, defended well as usual and attacked when it was possible.
Djokovic celebrated an amazing rally before the 3: 3 in the fourth set with an outstretched index finger and gestures to applause to the audience. That fired with “Matteo, Matteo” calls on the wobbly outsider, who gave Djokovic the break to make it 4: 3 with a double fault. Then “Nole, Nole” shouts echoed across the square – the nickname of Novak Djovkovic, who used this advantage to make a decision.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
