The super Serb has surely thrust his name to the forefront of any such conversations with his ongoing dominance of the men’s game.
Djokovic Moves Alongside Illustrious Duo
Djokovic has now matched his contemporaries’ joint-record tally of 20 Grand Slam titles by overcoming rising star Matteo Berrettini in Sunday’s men’s singles final to win his sixth Wimbledon title.
Six tastes so good
#Wimbledon | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/uPisSDidLV
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2021
Djokovic took early advantage of the obvious nerves from the Italian appearing in his first Grand Slam final, forcing an early break for 3-1 before forging 5-2 ahead in the opening set.
However, the world number one missed a set point in the eighth game before Berrettini hit back with a break of his own, with the crowd ultimately roaring the challenger on as he took the opening set on a tie-break.
However, that only seemed to spur Djokovic on to greater things as he surged into a 5-1 lead in the second, this time surviving a wobble thanks to a double break to level matters at one-set all.
The third was again decided by an early break while Djokovic forced a crucial break at 3-3 in a tense fourth set which set him on course to make history, going on to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 6-3.
GOAT Status a Matter of Time
Djokovic has now won all three major titles played so far in 2021, following his successes at the Australian and French Opens, only the second man in the Open Era to achieve such a feat, and he is the 11/10 favourite to match Rod Laver’s calendar slam success of 1969.
The Serbian superstar has previously held all four titles at the same time after winning Wimbledon and US Open in 2015, before starting the following year with victories at the Australian and French Opens.
The 34-year-old also has the opportunity to break new ground by winning a “Golden Slam” with victory at the Tokyo Olympics on top of the four majors – a feat only ever previously achieved by Steffi Graf in 1988.
Having beaten Nadal at the French Open, along with the fact that he has more time on his side than his revered peers, surely it is only a matter of time before Djokovic is all alone on the Grand Slam count, while it will take an awfully long time for his ever-extending record as world number one to be beaten, and he will have to be acknowledged as the GOAT.
Barty Makes History of Her Own
On the women’s side of the game, Ashleigh Barty was making history of her own as she won her first Wimbledon title to become the first Australian women’s champion for 41 years on the 50th anniversary of her hero Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s success.
Saturday’s final marked the first time since 1977 that both participants were making their debuts in the showpiece with Barty taking on Karolina Pliskova with nerves playing a massive part in a topsy-turvy encounter.
The final looked as though it would be a short-lived affair as Barty breezed through the opening 14 points before Pliskova even looked capable of offering any resistance.
Although she got to grips with the occasion too late in the first set to prevent Barty from taking control, her response in the second was tremendous, much to the delight of the crowd.
Barty had the chance to serve out the match in the second at 6-5 but Pliskova responded brilliantly to break back instantly before powering through the tie-break to force a decider.
It was the Australian though that took up the challenge in the third set and her aggression paid dividends, helped by a double fault and a netted volley from Pliskova for the key break, before holding her nerve to serve out the win, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3.
Dreams do come true
pic.twitter.com/q0RgY4rQmH
— Ash Barty (@ashbarty) July 10, 2021
The victory, her second Grand Slam success, cemented Barty’s position as world number one but she is only second favourite at 7/1 to make it a double at the US Open, with Naomi Osaka, absent from Wimbledon after withdrawing from the French Open, installed as the 4/1 favourite.
Pliskova’s run to the final has seen her climb back into the world’s top ten and she is 16/1 for Flushing Meadows glory, having reached the final there back in 2016.
*All odds correct at time of writing