Novak Djokovic triumphs at Wimbledon to secure record-equalling 20th major

He adds that to nine titles at the Australian Open, three at the U.S. Open and two at the French Open to equal his two rivals for the most majors won by a man in tennis history.

The 34-year-old from Serbia is now the only man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the first three major tournaments in a season. He can aim for a calendar-year Grand Slam — something last accomplished by a man when Laver did it 52 years ago — at the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 30 in New York.

This was Djokovic’s 30th major final — among men, only Federer has played more, 31 — and the first for Berrettini, a 25-year-old from Italy who was seeded No. 7.

WATCH | Djokovic claims record-tying 20th Grand Slam title: 

Novak Djokovic continues to make tennis history, this time with his 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Matteo Berrettini in London. 2:57

It was a big sporting day in London for Italians: Their national soccer team faces England at Wembley Stadium in the Euro Cup final at night.

With Marija Cicak officiating, the first female chair umpire for a men’s final at a tournament that began in 1877, play began at Centre Court as the sun made a rare appearance during the fortnight, the sky visible in between the clouds.

The opening game featured signs of edginess from both, but especially Djokovic — whose pair of double-faults contributed to the half-dozen combined unforced errors, compared with zero winners for either. He faced a break point but steadied himself and held there and, as was the case with every set, it was Djokovic who took the lead by getting through on Berrettini’s speedy serve.

Berrettini came in with a tournament-high 101 aces, and that’s where his game is built: free points off the serve and quick-strike forehands that earned him the nickname “Hammer.”

Those powerful strokes sent line judges contorting to get their head out of harm’s way. Djokovic occasionally took cover himself, crouching and raising his racket as if it were a shield to block back serves aimed at his body.

Not many opponents return serves at 137 mph and end up winning the point, but Djokovic did that at least twice. And the big groundstrokes that the 6-foot-5, barrel-chested Berrettini can drive past most other players kept coming back off Djokovic’s racket.

That’s what Djokovic does: He just forces foes to work so hard to win every point, let alone a game, a set, a match.

Indeed, this one could have been over much sooner: Djokovic took leads of 4-1 in the first set, 4-0 in the second and 3-1 in the third. But in the first, especially, he faltered in ways he rarely does, wasting a set point and getting broken when he served for it at 5-3.

In the ensuing tiebreaker, they were tied at 3-all, but Berrettini won three of the next four points with forehands and closed it out with a 138 mph ace.

He strutted to the changeover, and many in the full house of nearly 15,000 rose to celebrate along with him.

But Djokovic is nothing if not a fighter — he turned things around from two sets down in the French Open final last month — and he worked his way back into this one, which ended with Djokovic on his back on the court, basking in the crowd’s cheers.

Golden Slam pursuit in doubt

Djokovic also said he was “50-50” about competing at the Tokyo Olympics later this month following the organizers’ decision to ban fans from attending and the restrictions on the number of people he can take to the Games.

“I’ll have to think about it,” the 34-year-old told reporters in London after winning his sixth Wimbledon title. “My plan was always to go to Olympic Games.

“But right now I’m a little bit divided. It’s kind of 50-50 because of what I heard in the last couple days.”

No man has ever won the four slams and an Olympic gold in the same year and considering this is the first time in his career that Djokovic has won the season’s opening three majors, he may never get another opportunity to complete the Golden Slam if he opts out of the Games like many of his rivals.

Some of the sport’s biggest names, including Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have already announced their decision to skip the Games, which has been delayed by a year due to the pandemic.

Djokovic said he was “really disappointed” to hear that the events in Tokyo will be played without any spectators present.

“I also hear that there’s going to be a lot of restrictions within the [Games] village,” the 20-time major winner added.
 
“Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. I can’t even have my stringer that is very important part of my team. I’m limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well.”