2021 Wimbledon Championships Final – Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
Where is Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini taking place? Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini will take place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England
When is Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini on and what time does it start? Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini will take place on Sunday 11th July, 2021 – not before 14:00 (UK) / 09:00 (US EST)
What surface is Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini being played on? Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini will be played on an outdoor grass court
Where can I get tickets for Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini
What channel is Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini on? Coverage of Wimbledon is shared between BBC and Eurosport
Where can I stream Novak Djokovic vs Matteo Berrettini? If televised on BBC, this match can be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. If the match is televised on Eurosport, subscribers can stream the match live on Eurosport Player
THE PREDICTION
World number one Novak Djokovic knew he was in a match against the 10th seed Denis Shapovalov on Friday evening but still the five-time champion won in straight sets. 34-year-old Djokovic has not dropped a set since his first this campaign against Jack Draper in a slow start to what immediately became something of a procession for the Serb. Djokovic came in as the solid favourite before a serve was struck and since then there has been little to suggest otherwise, with either Shapovalov or perhaps even Denis Kudla providing him the toughest challenge so far this campaign.
World number nine Matteo Berrettini has also followed a pre-destined route to a first Grand Slam final here after winning his second title on grass at Queen’s Club three weeks ago. The 25-year-old has overpowered each and every opponent so far on a tougher but similarly convincing route through to the final and went one better than his previous best at a major after reaching the US Open semi-final in 2019. Berrettini beat a potentially tired Hubert Hurkacz in four fairly solid sets in much the same way he overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime. Both defeated foes took out strong seeds in Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer but such is the Italian’s sudden, explosive form on grass that he should have been strong enough to beat those three too.
However, the world number one awaits on Sunday and it was difficult to find anybody in the draw capable of beating Novak Djokovic in this form, let alone taking him the distance. It is quite frightening to suggest that Djokovic could currently be capable of some of the best tennis of his career and he has not even been asked to show that at SW19. We saw how devastating he could be at Roland-Garros last month when he beat 13-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and then bounced back to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in five and he will have that effort in his locker against here if required. Berrettini is riding an 11-match winning streak into his first major final but the Serb will enter his 30th Grand Slam final with 17 wins on the spin behind him, and one of those was against Berrettini in the quarter-finals of the French Open last month. Djokovic has only lost one final here, to Andy Murray in 2013, and in this imperious mood it is hard to see Berrettini taking even a set. Shapovalov was hard to break down and the Italian should be even harder. For that reason, take Djokovic to win outright and at least one tiebreak in this final.
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