Wimbledon 2021 final, Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini: A glance through road to final, head-to-head battle preview

The Wimbledon 2021 Gentlemen’s singles final will see defending champion and World No.1 Novak Djokovic take on seventh-seed Italian Matteo Berrettini. After losing his first set of the tournament against Jack Draper, Serbian Djokovic hasn’t dropped a single set since. On the other hand, 25-year-old Berrettini has had to fight a few four-set battles before becoming the first Italian to reach the final at the All England Club. Is history going to repeat itself or will new history be created?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC:

Djokovic is trying to win his record-equalling Grand Slam and go level with fellow legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The 34-year-old will be competing in his 30th men’s singles Grand Slam final, vying for his sixth Wimbledon title. He is only one behind Federer’s tally of 31 Slam finals made.

Seed: 1

Age: 34

ATP ranking: 1

Grand Slam titles: 19 (Australian Open x9, French Open x2, Wimbledon x5, US Open x3 )

ROAD TO THE FINAL:

->First Round: beat Jack Draper 4-6,6-1,6-2,6-2

->Second Round: beat Kevin Andeson 6-3,6-3,6-3

->Third Round: beat Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-3, 7-6

->Fourth Round: beat Cristian Garin 6-4,6-2,6-4

->Quarterfinals: beat Marton Fucsovics 6-3,6-4,6-4

->Semifinals: beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6, 7-5, 7-5

TOURNAMENT STATISTICS

Aces: 63

Break Points won: 26

First-serve receiving points won- 111

First-serve points won: 85%

Second-serve points won: 57%

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MATTEO BERRETTINI

Twenty-five-year-old Berrettini has a shot at creating history; by becoming the first Italian to win the Wimbledon Championships. The Rome-born big-hitter, who has a shot of winning the Queen’s and Wimbledon double. Can he get the job done in his first-ever Grand Slam final.

Seed: 7

Age: 25

WTA ranking: 13

Grand Slam titles: 0

ROAD TO THE FINAL:

->First Round: beat Guido Pella 6-4, 3-6,6-4,6-0

->Second Round: beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3,6-4,7-6

->Third Round: beat Aljaz Bedene 6-4,6-4,6-4

->Fourth Round: beat Ilya Ivashka 6-4,6-3,6-1

->Quarterfinals: beat Felix-Auger Aliassime 6-3,5-7,7-5,6-3

->Semifinals: beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3,6-0,6-7,6-4

TOURNAMENT STATISTICS

Aces: 101

Break Points won: 28

First-serve receiving points won-118

First-serve points won: 82%

Second-serve points won: 61%

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HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (2-0)

Serbian great Novak Djokovic currently leads their head-to-head record with two wins. Incidentally, the two players have met each other on the Tour only twice and this third meeting, is going to be their biggest yet.

Last two meetings (year/result/tournament)

2021 Djokovic def. Berrettini 6-3,6-2,5-7,7-5 6-1 7-5 in the Quarterfinals of the French Open

2019 Djokovic def. Berrettini 6-2,6-1 in the group stage of the 2019 ATP Finals.