DJOKOVIC THE SLAMBUSTER Novak eyes clean sweep to finish off GOAT debate
He lands 20th major to join Federer and Nadal and looks set for more
The shared 20:20 vision of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is over — three is now the crowd at the top of men’s tennis. As the sun set on a unique Wimbledon last night the game was left in the extraordinary position of having three immortals duking it out with 60 major titles split between them.
Novak Djokovic joined the other two on 20 when he claimed his sixth Wimbledon title against the spirited Matteo Berrettini. Cheered on by a British crowd in a manner Italy’s footballers could only dream of, the 25-year-old Roman could not prevent a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 defeat which took three hours and 24 minutes.
he will be back, but so will Djokovic, who became the first man since Rod Laver to win the first three majors of the season. The calendar Slam is on at the US Open and only the most foolhardy would bet against the Serb.
It should not be forgotten that this year there was only a two-week gap between the clay of Roland Garros and the grass — at its most perilous in the early rounds — of SW19. So this was the trickiest hurdle to surmount and it would explain why, including yesterday, Djokovic was never really at his best in the past fortnight.
Consider also that the 34-year-old only had one Grand Slam to his name when Federer had 16. In reality, while Nadal has largely monopolised Paris, when it comes to the other surfaces and big tournaments one player has really dominated the last six years.
The great Swiss looks to have run out of road, while Nadal was so broken by his defeat at Roland Garros he did not make the trip across the Channel this time. Their parity with Djokovic is looking both temporary and defenceless.
We saw again in this final, as we did in the semis against Denis Shapovalov, that the Serb lives rent free in the heads of opponents when it comes to so many crunch points. That advantage has been hard-earned over a long period. his ability to lock in and force other players to take the initiative under the greatest pressure is arguably his biggest single attribute.
history weighed heavily upon him here and this was not one of his great performances. he was fragile at times, his second serve sitting up to be punished, but it was enough, as it so often is.
In the two big duels of the match his returns just edged the Berrettini powerhouse serve, while his backhand shaded his opponent’s similarly clubbed forehand. he knows better than to panic and when he went behind he played within himself, working out that the conservative way would probably be sufficient. he made 21 unforced errors to Berrettini’s 48.
The Italian will only improve for this experience and has announced himself in the past four weeks to a UK audience. Yet he could not join the esteemed list of players who have won both Queen’s and Wimbledon.
Centre Court was packed yesterday like old times, and while that scene may alarm some people it was obviously felt safe enough by Sir Patrick Vallance, sitting maskless in the Royal Box.
The volcanic eruption of the arena which greeted Berrettini taking the first set was a beautiful sound, no matter what your view, or who you support. It had been an eventful opener and one which both players, clearly nervous, had looked reluctant to win. Djokovic was extremely edgy at the start, serving three double faults in the first two games and allowing a first break point. Luckily
for him the Italian was even more uptight and, as we have seen so often before, could not take his chances.
Somehow the Serb found himself 4-1 up and when he moved to 5-2 all looked predictable. There then followed a 22-point game which Berrettini (left) held after saving a set point.
That tipped Djokovic back into the anxiety zone and he was broken when the Italian reached a dropshot and flicked a winner down the line.
Berrettini knew he had to apply some scoreboard pressure to have any chance and he delivered in the tiebreak, going 3-0 up and then sealing it 7-4 with an ace smacked down the ‘T’.
As for most of this event Djokovic had not been at his imperious best, but he broke early and after getting ahead to 5-2 managed to serve it out, confidently, at the second time of asking.
The Italian was averaging 12mph quicker on serve but he needed to be more consistent than the 58 per cent first deliveries he was managing against the greatest returner of all time. he was duly broken early in the third as an increasingly assured Djokovic cleverly stole into the net.
Doing his best to keep the ball away from his opponent’s fearsome forehand he had a mini-crisis in the sixth game of the third but saved two break points, interacting with an increasingly boisterous crowd.
he was also slowing down the pace he was giving to Berrettini’s groundstrokes and drawing errors as a result. A forehand wide sealed a two sets to one lead. Just about keeping his head amid a highly charged atmosphere, at 3-3 in the fourth set the pressure paid off when Berrettini double faulted on break point to seal the outcome.
The stately Centre Court has been a symbol of continuity in disturbing times. So, increasingly, is the sight of Djokovic winning.
A triumphAnt novak Djokovic has warned his rivals that nothing will stop him trying to end the greatest of all time debate once and for all.
the Serb said he would do everything to win the calendar Grand Slam at the uS Open and leave roger Federer and rafael nadal behind in the race for who ends up with the most Grand Slam titles.
‘i could definitely envisage that happening, i am hoping,’ Djokovic, 34, said after beating italy’s matteo Berrettini in four sets. ‘i will give it a shot.
‘i am in great form, playing well and playing my best tennis at Grand Slams. this is the highest priority i have right now at this stage of my career. So let’s keep it going.
‘When i broke into the top 10 for the first time, i lost most of the big matches i played against these two guys (Federer and nadal). Something shifted at the beginning of
2011, and the last 10 years have been an incredible journey. it is not stopping here.’
Djokovic was diplomatic when asked whether the GOAt argument might even have been settled already.
‘i consider myself the best and i believe i am the best, otherwise i wouldn’t be talking confidently about winning Slams and making history. But whether i am the greatest of all time i leave that debate to other people. it is very difficult to compare eras.’
Djokovic is not only on course for the calendar Slam, but could also win the ‘Golden Slam’, which includes the Olympics.
But he has still not decided if he will go to tokyo this month and admitted he was disappointed by the absence of spectators in Japan: ‘i hear there’s going to be a lot of restrictions in the village and possibly i wouldn’t be able to see other athletes,’ he said. ‘it’s about 50-50 because of what i have heard in the last couple of days.’
Djokovic was congratulated by Federer, who tweeted last night: ‘i’m proud to have the opportunity to play in a special era of tennis champions. Wonderful performance, well done!’
this year marks the 20th anniversary of Goran ivanisevic’s memorable triumph at Wimbledon, and the Croat has become an integral part of Djokovic’s coaching team.
ivanisevic said with a smile: ‘i won this tournament as a player, now i won as a coach. i don’t have to come any more.
‘i said so many times, even before i was in his team, if somebody can win a Golden Slam, that’s novak.
‘Working with him is a privilege, an honour. it is everything, but it’s not easy. it’s a lot of pressure. the final is not good enough, we count only wins.
‘But it’s fun. it’s a challenge. he is writing history. unbelievable. After he won the French Open, he came here very confident. Some matches he didn’t play well, but still won. that’s why he’s such a champion.
‘this one was huge. this is 20 to tie these three unbelievable guys. now going to the uS Open, having the chance to win four (Grand Slams) in the same year — it would be unbelievable.
‘nobody expected in the 21st century that it would be possible, but it is. We are from the Balkans. With people from the Balkans, everything is possible. When nobody expects anything, we create everything.
‘For me, novak is the best ever. he’s going to do it at the uS Open. i believe he’s going to win all four in one year. then i think the story (of who is the greatest ever) is over.’