Centre Court has never tasted so good. Novak Djokovic, the self-styled “wolf” of Wimbledon with a hunger for the All England Club’s pineapple-topped trophy and striped lawns, snacked on the grass in celebration after coming from a set down against Matteo Berrettini to win the championships for a sixth time.
Eating the Centre Court grass is Djokovic’s signature — he had done so on every previous occasion he had won this title. But this time the rye grass was perhaps sweeter.
When the world No.1 beat Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to win his sixth title at Wimbledon, he reached his 20th grand slam crown, equalling the men’s record haul held by Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal of Spain. Between the three of them they have 60 slams.
“It means none of us three will stop,” Djokovic said during the presentation ceremony when asked what the milestone meant to him. “I have to pay great tribute to Rafa and Roger. They are legends of our sport and they are the two most important players that I ever faced in my career. They are the reason that I’m where I am today.
“They’ve helped me realise what I need to do in order to improve and get stronger mentally, physically, tactically. The last 10 years have been an incredible journey. It’s not stopping here.”
Djokovic is also three quarters of the way to becoming the first man to win the near-mythical calendar-year grand slam since Australia’s Rod Laver accomplished it in 1969.
By adding the Wimbledon title to this season’s triumphs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, the Serbian was also advancing the argument that he should ultimately be considered the GOAT —the Greatest of All Time — in the men’s game.
Djokovic has even given himself a chance to attain the so-called golden slam, which is the four major championships plus the singles gold medal in the Olympics. Steffi Graf is the only player to have completed a golden slam, in 1988. He, however, has yet to decide whether he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin in less than two weeks.
He had earlier said he might skip the event if Japan did not allow any spectators, a decision Japanese officials made last week.
Going into the final, Djokovic had won 18 sets in a row, a run that started after dropping the first one in the opening round against Jack Draper, a teenage British wild card.
On Sunday, Berrettini, the first Italian to play in a Wimbledon final, took the first
set, but after that just could not keep up with Djokovic.
“To stand here with a sixth Wimbledon title, that’s amazing. It was a tough match today. Matteo’s a true Italian hammer. I felt that on my skin,” Djokovic said after the final.
There is a reason why Djokovic regards the wolf as his spirit animal. He sees it as “a loner who survives and thrives” on its own. Djokovic is, at 34, the second oldest man in history to win Wimbledon, behind only Federer, who was 35 in 2017. He is also only the fourth man in the post-1968 Open era — after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Federer — to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles.
Berrettini, a powerful Italian with a booming serve and a massive forehand, steam-rolled through his first six matches at Wimbledon.
But he was competing in his first grand slam final against the last player anyone would want to face, especially with the most important championship in the sport on the line.
Djokovic was playing in his 30th grand slam singles final, and looked every bit the veteran champion.
At 34 he continues to win championships at an age when champions of the previous generation had long ceased to compete for major titles.
Even more, in each of the grand slam finals he has played in this year he has defeated a player in his twenties who has been heralded as being ready to start winning championships. Djokovic destroyed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the Australian Open final. In Paris last month he stormed back from two sets down to break the heart of Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Then on Sunday against Berrettini, Djokovic took care of business, picking apart the 25-year-old Italian’s 209kph serves as though they were slow-pitch softballs.
Unlike his rivals, Federer and Nadal, Djokovic has made it clear that he desperately wants to finish his career with the most grand slam singles championships. “I am playing for history” has become something of a mantra for him. The statement has become even more fitting now that he has the calendar year grand slam in his sight.
Djokovic sealed his place in the record books in the fourth set on Sunday, on his third match point, when Berrettini’s backhand slice landed in the net. “That was more than a battle,” Djokovic said. “Winning Wimbledon was always a biggest dream of mine when I was a kid... I have to remind myself how special this is and not take this for granted.”
Top duos
Seventh seeded British-American duo Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk defeated Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart of Britain 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) to win the mixed doubles title.
On Saturday, top seed Croatian duo Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic beat Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-5 to win the men’s doubles crown.
