Novak Djokovic fulfilled his dream that he would one day become the greatest player in history by claiming the 20th Grand Slam title of his career.
The world number 1 managed to match the achievements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have already collected 20 Grand Slam titles, with a historic 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the 2021 Wimbledon final over the seventh seed, Matteo Berrettini.
“The game is more than a battle,” said Novak Djokovic. “Winning Wimbledon has always been my biggest dream as a kid. I know how special this tournament is and I don’t want to underestimate it.”
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“I was a 7-year-old kid in Serbia, shaping the Wimbledon trophy with materials I improvised in my bedroom, and now I stand here with six tournament titles. Truly extraordinary.”
When asked what it meant to win a 20th Grand Slam title of his career, Djokovic replied, “That means neither of us will stop playing. I have to give my biggest tribute to Roger and Rafa as legends of this sport, the two most important players in my career, and why I became the player I am today. They made me realize what I need to improve mentally, physically and tactically.”
“When I first broke into the top 10, over three or four seasons, I lost most of the important games against them and something changed at the end of the 2010 season and the start of the 2011 season. will stop here.”
The tennis player who this season has won a ninth Australian Open title (beating Daniil Medvedev) and a second French Open title (beating Stefanos Tsitsipas), will now be looking to sweep the prestigious tournament title this season after winning his sixth Wimbledon title.
Only four men in history have arrived at the US Open with their first three Grand Slam titles and in the coming months, the Serb will be hoping to emulate Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) who won all four titles. Grand Slam in one season.
In the first set, the first seed squandered a 5-2 lead and allowed Berrettini to catch up and even win through the tiebreak. But the first seed used a backhand slice to make a devastating impact and won 34 of the 48 points contested at the net to bounce back in his 30th career Grand Slam final and eventually bagged his 34th win in 37 games this season.
The historic victory fought for 3 hours 23 minutes saw Djokovic become only the fourth man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title for the third time in a row.
“Novak played better than me, because he is a true champion,” said Berrettini. “I hope this is not my last Grand Slam final. It’s an honor to be here and the last few weeks, including at the Queen’s Club, have been an incredible adventure.”
