Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s combined reign at the top of men’s tennis is finished; there are now three at the top. With a hard-fought victory over Matteo Berrettini, Novak Djokovic joined the other two immortals by winning his sixth Wimbledon title.
The 25-year-old Roman could not avert a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 defeat to the world number one, which took three hours and 24 minutes, despite the support of a British crowd that Italy’s footballers could only dream of. As a result, Djokovic now has 20 Grand Slam victories to his name, alongside his two great adversaries, with more on the way.
History weighed heavy on him, and while this was not one of his best performances, and it was a little shaky at moments, it was enough, as it often is. On the important points, he was the tougher opponent, with his returns just edging Berrettini’s thunderous serve, and his backhand shading his opponent’s forehand. He fell to the ground and drank up the praise of the Centre Court after winning a final battle of backhand slices that concluded with the ball in the net.
No matter who you support, the volcanic eruption of the arena that greeted Berrettini taking the opening set was a lovely sound. It had been an exciting start, and both players, plainly frightened, had been hesitant to win until the very end.
Djokovic was jittery, to begin with, serving three double faults in the first two games and giving up a break point. Fortunately for him, the Italian was even more uneasy, and, as we’ve seen before, he couldn’t take any chances.
The Serbian managed to go up 4-1, and when he increased his lead to 5-2, everything seemed to fall into place. Following that, Berrettini won a 22-point game after preserving a set point. Djokovic was broken as the Italian reached a dropshot and flipped a winner down the line, sending him into a panic.
The clash between Djokovic’s backhand and the Italian forehand was being shaded by Djokovic. When Berrettini double faulted on break point at 3-3 in the fourth set, the pressure paid off. He kept his cool and broke for the final time to make history.
