Matteo Berrettini clinched the first set but it was all downhill from there.Credit:Getty Images
The opening game featured signs of edginess from both,but especially Djokovic,whose pair of double faults contributed to the half-dozen combined unforced errors,compared with zero winners for either. He faced a break point but steadied himself and held there and,as was the case with every set,it was Djokovic who took the lead by getting through on Berrettini’s speedy serve.
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.”
Those powerful strokes sent line judges contorting to get their head out of harm’s way. Djokovic occasionally took cover himself,crouching and raising his racket as if it were a shield to block back serves aimed at his body.
Not many opponents return serves at 220km/h and end up winning the point,but Djokovic did that at least twice. And the big groundstrokes that Berrettini can drive past most other players kept coming back off Djokovic’s racket.
That’s what Djokovic does:he forces foes to work so hard to win every point,every game,every set and every match.
Novak Djokovic celebrates yet another grand slam win.Credit:Getty Images
Indeed,this one could have been over much sooner:Djokovic took leads of 4-1 in the first set,4-0 in the second and 3-1 in the third. But in the first,especially,he faltered in ways he rarely does,wasting a set point and getting broken when he served for it at 5-3.
In the ensuing tie-breaker,they were tied at 3-all,but Berrettini won three of the next four points with forehands,and closed it out with an ace.
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He strutted to the changeover and many in the full house of nearly 15,000 rose to celebrate along with him.
But Djokovic is nothing if not a fighter. He turned things around from two sets down in the French Open final last month and he worked his way back into this one,which ended with Djokovic on his back on the court,basking in the crowd’s cheers.
Djokovic’s 20 majors
Australian Open: 2008,2011,2012,2013,2015,2016,2019,2020,2021
French Open: 2016,2021
Wimbledon: 2011,2014,2015,2018,2019,2021
US Open: 2011,2015,2018