Novak Djokovic joined the men’s 20 club on Sunday, winning his third straight Wimbledon championship and sixth overall, and earning a 20th Grand Slam title. Djokovic tied tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most men’s Grand Slam wins. Federer lost in the quarterfinals of this year’s tournament and Nadal sat out, stating he needed to rest his body.
Djokovic, 34, from Serbia, defeated 25-year-old Matteo Berrettini from Italy, 6–4, 6-4, 6-3 after losing the first set 7-6. It was Berrettini’s first finals Grand Slam appearance.
“Winning Wimbledon was always a biggest dream of mine when I was a kid,” said Djokovic, who recalled how he made his own Wimbledon trophy at 7 years of age. “Today, standing with the sixth Wimbledon, it’s incredible, amazing.”
Djokovic is now considered by many followers of tennis and those within the pro ranks as the best men’s player ever. Among those is Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ coach since 2012. After Djokovic’s latest win on the grass at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, Mouratoglou tweeted:
“Novak is the most complete player of all times. That enables him to find a solution to most of the problems on the court and this, on every surface. It explains why he is now in the best position to become the GOAT.”
The women’s singles championship was won on Saturday by Australian Ashleigh Barty, 25, who defeated Karolína Plíšková from the Czech Republic in three sets. Winning the first set 6-3, Barty lost the second set 7-6 before securing the match with another 6-3 set. It was Barty’s second Grand Slam career win. Her first was in 2019 at the French Open. She became the first Australian to win Wimbledon since 1980.
It was the 29-year-old Plíšková’s second Grand Slam final. She was defeated in the 2016 U.S. Open final by Angelique Kerber. Among the rising players at Wimbledon was Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal, Canada, who will turn 21 next month. Auger-Aliassime bears a slight resemblance to tennis great Arthur Ashe.
He was the winner of the boys’ singles U.S. Open title in 2016, and the boys’ doubles title at the Open in 2015. Last Monday in the Round of 16, Auger-Aliassime won the biggest match of his career, defeating No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev from Germany 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in a four hour plus match.
Said Auger-Aliassime, “I’m a normal guy from Montreal, Canada and here I am, Court 1 at Wimbledon. This is surely the best victory of my career.”