Novak Djokovic beat Matteo Berrettini on Sunday to secure his sixth Wimbledon trophy and equalised the record for Grand Slam titles.
After conceding the first set 6-7, Djokovic, 34, rallied to win the following three 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
This new victory — his sixth Wimbledon trophy — is his 20th Grand Slam title, putting him tied for first on the all-time list with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
This was Djokovic’s 30th major final — among men, only Federer has played more, 31 — while Italy’s Berrettini, 25, was playing in his first.
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.”
Faced with the Italian’s formidable serve and forehand, the world’s best returner pounded the backhand and played less consistent balls on the Roman’s forehand, provoking a remarkable number of unforced errors with these changes of pace (a total of 47 for Berrettini, 21 for Djokovic).
Berrettini also made a number of unforced errors, perhaps due to nervousness. He managed to save two match points on his serve at 5-3, but lost the match with a last ball into the net.
Djokovic has won nine Australian Opens, two French Opens, six Wimbledons and three US Opens.
He has so far won the first three majors of the year, putting him on course for the Grand Slam if he wins the US Open in September, or even the Golden Slam, which consists of winning all four major tournaments and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.
Only Steffi Graf achieved this feat in 1988.
