Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic first among equals after 20th Grand Slam title

Primus Inter Pares. First among equals. Novak Djokovic became an equal to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on Sunday with his 20th Grand Slam title. However, even at 19 majors, he was the ‘primus’. Now, he has the ‘equal’ tag, and it could well become 21 before the year is over.

Another mind-boggling achievement after his 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over Matteo Berrettini : he has now won the first three Grand Slams in the year and is one closer to Golden Slam and Calendar Slam. No man has been able to do the Calendar Slam (winning all four majors in a year) since Rod Laver in 1969 and no one except Steffi Graf has done a Golden Slam (winning all four majors and the Olympics in a year). The Golden Slam checkbox might not be ticked considering the Serb is undecided over participation at Tokyo Olympics due to absence of fans, curbs and, oddly, inability to take his stringer along.

The moment @DjokerNole became #Wimbledon champion for the sixth time pic.twitter.com/5xN8ogWYYT

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2021

As Berrettini’s backhand slice hit the net, Djokovic went down on the grass in a heap. He had slipped and collapsed multiple times over the past fortnight. Building a “really nice connection with the grass” he had called it after the second round. On Sunday, that connection got sweeter as he took a bite of the lush grass after two years. A familiar ritual now for Djokovic to crouch, pat the grass, pluck a single blade and chew on it. What followed, from the crowd, was a bit of a surprise.

“Novak, you’re the G.O.A.T.,” exclaimed a couple of fans. Greatest of all time. A bold statement to make at a venue that has been a haven for Federer fans. But not a statement without merit. Djokovic has spent 328 weeks at the top of the world – more than Federer (310) and Nadal (209). He has won the Masters tournaments twice – others haven’t gone around once. He has won every Grand Slam twice, too, a feat that is unmatched in the Open Era. He holds a positive head-to-head over Federer, Nadal on tour and at Slams. Going by pure numbers, Djokovic already was numerus unus. Tied first with 20 Grand Slams just removes the naysayers.

Does Djokovic think he’s the G.O.A.T.? “I consider myself best and I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn’t be talking confidently about winning slams and making history. But whether I’m the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people. I said before that it’s very difficult to compare the eras of tennis. We have different racquets, technology, balls, courts. It’s just completely different conditions that we’re playing in, so it’s very hard to compare tennis, say, from 50 years ago to today,” he said in the press conference.

On court, earlier, he had delivered a warning. “I am probably the most complete I have been. And it is not stopping here.”

Once again, to put the race into perspective : when Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in 2008, he was 11 behind Federer and two behind Nadal. Three years later, when Djokovic won his second major, he trailed the duo by 15 and 7 respectively. Another way of looking at it: In July 2011, Djokovic won his third major at Wimbledon. Fast forward 10 years, Djokovic lifted his 20th Grand Slam trophy. That is a success rate of nearly 50 percent. Even as a Federer or Nadal fan, you must concur that it is crazy good.

20 years on from 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 win, Goran Ivanisevic is a winner again at #Wimbledon 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RZ98YSyDfJ

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2021

But where is the ceiling? Pete Sampras’ 14 Grand Slam titles was believed to be an unbeatable target at one stage. And now we have three men on 20 – concurrently.

“For me (the GOAT debate) was over a long time ago. It’s just who you like more. Between these three guys, 60 Grand Slams. It’s unreal. Maybe you like Nadal, Federer more, maybe somebody else. For me, not because I’m here, before I was member of the team, for me he was the best. He’s the only guy who can win four in a row in the same year. If he wins US Open, I think it’s over,” said Djokovic’s coach and 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.

“He’s like in the movies. You have to kill the guy 27 times and still, he gets up and you have to kill him again and he gets up, he gets up.”

Denis Shapovalov found that out, to his cost, in the semi-final and Berrettini in the final. Shapovalov played a near-perfect match but failed to convert in the big moments. Even when not playing his best, Novak won in straight sets.

Congrats Novak on your 20th major. I'm proud to have the opportunity to play in a special era of tennis champions. Wonderful performance, well done!

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) July 11, 2021

Congrats @DjokerNole on this amazing achievement. 20 Grand Slam titles is huge and it is amazing that we are 3 players tied on this. Well done and, again, congrats to you and your team for this!@Wimbledon

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) July 11, 2021

6-foot-4 Berrettini, with a hammer of a serve and whip for a forehand, smacked 57 winners and served 16 aces including a 138mph bullet. One of his crunching forehand winners was recorded at 101mph – many players don’t have serves that big! Despite the audible gasps from the crowd, it wasn’t enough – as it wasn’t for Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros .

“I didn’t play my best match but it’s thanks to Novak,” the Italian admitted afterwards. “The way he neutralised my weapons, my serve and forehand. The way he covers the court is unbelievable.”

“He is the only player that makes me feel like this,” he added. “His serve is really precise. I would say tactics-wise he is the best player, along with Roger. He is studying your game and adjusting during the match.”

And adjust he did, not just on Sunday, but over the course of two weeks. The flexibility associated with Djokovic is on the physical side but it should also extend to his tennis. He adjusted to different players, styles, and conditions. He started the tournament by dropping a set to wildcard Jack Draper. He went into the final without dropping another. On Sunday, he threw away a 5-2 lead to lose the opener in a tiebreak. Stats told you this was Berrettini’s for the taking . But the stat didn’t take into account the Djokovic factor, at Wimbledon, in a Grand Slam final.

The subsequent sets saw the quality of tennis go up as did the decibel level on Centre Court. There were loud screams for “Mat-te-o” “Mat-te-o” as there were for “Nol-e”, “Nol-e” with Djokovic cupping his ear after saving two break points. Moments later, when he held, Novak put his racket behind an ear, heard more noise, nodded and smiled.

Leaving us speechless, @DjokerNole. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/YTMw1YLXTT

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2021

There were other roof-raising moments. Djokovic slid into a defensive backhand and, after Berrettini replied with a drop shot, the Serb sprinted forward for a winner. Djokovic raised his index finger — as if to remind everyone, “I’m No. 1!” — with Berrettini, little to do but smile.

Against Djokovic, that’s all one can do in 2021.

At the end of the day, Berrettini was at the Wembley Stadium and had reason to smile as Italy won the European Championships . But it was Djokovic who hoisted the trophy on the Clubhouse balcony at the All England Club and had his name on the winner’s board.

As far as the ‘Big 3’ are concerned, there will be a day when all three would have played their last. Younger challengers will emerge and will not have to tackle the herculean task of facing Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. But for now, as Federer and Nadal battle their individual issues, it is Djokovic who is first among equals.