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Hopes for Britain, Spain and the USA, then there's the Serbian wolf and the possibility of Dutch gold

On the prowl
When does a wolf become the GOAT? If Novak Djokovic can use his "wolf energy" on the Centre Court grass to defeat Matteo Berrettini, putting him level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slams apiece, it would trigger more conversations about which of the trio is the Greatest of All Time.

Djokovic, who is the youngest of the Big Three at 34 years old, is attempting to win a third consecutive title at the All England Club, and a sixth overall. Winning Wimbledon would also put the World No.1 three quarters of the way to the calendar-year Grand Slam, which no man has accomplished since Australia's Rod Laver in 1969.

So far this Fortnight, the Serbian has only dropped one set, in the opening round against British wild card Jack Draper, but he faces a formidable opponent in Berrettini, the first Italian in history to play in the gentlemen's singles final.

WOLF ENERGY
Flying the flag
A British winner is guaranteed on Centre Court on Sunday. The all-British pair of Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart play Britain's Neal Skupski and American Desirae Krawczyk in the mixed doubles final.

SALISBURY AND DART
Golden opportunity
After winning this year's Australian Open and Roland-Garros titles, Dutchwoman Diede de Groot is in the same position as Djokovic - a match away from scoring the third Grand Slam of the season. She plays South Africa's Kgothatso Montjane.

ONE MATCH AWAY FROM THE TITLE
A reign for Spain?
Spain have had success in the ladies' singles, with Conchita Martinez and Garbiñe Muguruza each lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, but a Spaniard is yet to win the girls' singles title. That could change on Sunday when Ane Mintegi Del Olmo meets Germany's Nastasja Mariana Schunk.

UKRAINE'S DARIA SNIGUR IN 2019 - SPAIN IN 2021?
Double hopes for USA
For the first time since 2014, and only the second time since 1977, there is an all-American conclusion to the boys' singles event. It will also be contested by a couple of unseeded players, with Victor Lilov to face Samir Banerjee.

Italian has game to trouble world No.1 after 11-match unbeaten run on grass

The numbers that separate them are vast, as they are whenever Novak Djokovic takes to the court against anyone outside his Big Three peers these days.

Matteo Berrettini fronts up for his maiden Grand Slam final on the same day his beloved Italy fight for the Euro football trophy. His opponent, the 19-time Grand Slam champion, is one match from the third leg of a 'Golden Grand Slam'.

Since the last eight were confirmed, these two were the most likely to be the last standing on the final Sunday of The Championships. True to form, they are: the world No.1 versus a man riding an 11-match unbeaten streak on the grass.

Djokovic has claimed both prior meetings, but their showdown in last month’s Roland-Garros quarter-finals pointed to Berrettini’s rising potential at this exalted level.

The Italian salvaged only three games when the pair first crossed paths in 2019 at the ATP Cup. Two and a half years later, he had improved immensely and pushed the eventual champion in a close four sets in Paris before he collected his maiden ATP 500 trophy on grass at Queen’s Club last month.

The green stuff will only enhance the Roman’s greatest strengths – his serve and his forehand – and he will need both to be firing if he is to stand a chance against arguably the greatest returner the sport has seen.

The 6ft 5in Roman has thumped an event-leading 101 aces, 38 more than his third-placed opponent, and could make inroads on the Djokovic second serve, which has only gone unreturned just 17 per cent of the time.

101 ACES FOR BERRETTINI – 38 MORE THAN DJOKOVIC
“With big weapons in serve and forehand, he can play well – which he has proven – on any surface,” Djokovic said. “Obviously grass favours him even more, favours his game. If he serves big, as he did throughout the entire tournament, it's tough to break his serve, it's tough to go into the rhythm, to find a good positioning to return, make him play.

“But I believe in my return. I think return has served me very well throughout my career. Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of those serves back and wait for my chances. I will have to also serve myself efficiently.”

The pair can’t be split when it comes to closing out games on serve. Both have fended off 81 per cent of break points and held 95 per cent of the time, having been broken only five times each this Fortnight.

This will be a first encounter with a top 10 seed of The Championships for both men and with two combatants so dominant on serve throughout, tie-breaks could prove pivotal. Berrettini holds the edge in 2021, winning 13 of 18 played, while Djokovic has won nine of 17.

Despite continued improvements, Berrettini’s backhand remains something of a weakness. Of his 254 winners, 84 have come from his forehand and only 19 off his backhand. Expect Djokovic to keep him guessing as to whether he will risk firing to his opponent’s forehand before exposing the weaker wing, or reverting to target the backhand outright.

Should Berrettini find himself in a five-set final, the outlook becomes considerably more difficult. Sascha Bajin, Karolina Pliskova's coach, likened it to walking on water. “I think especially against these guys, if you don't win the first two sets, it's all tough,” he said.

DJOKOVIC CELEBRATES SEMI-FINAL WIN
As a free-swinging Denis Shapovalov discovered in the semi-finals, a blistering start is no guarantee of a set, let alone victory. Few players have such unbridled faith in their ability to find rhythm as Djokovic, and few are able to stem the flow.

“To have that belief and that knowledge and that self-confidence is something that comes through wins and five-setters and being there and knowing how to manage your emotions, knowing how to manage your physicality,” Bajin said. “It's so brutal on the body. When to pull the trigger, when not to."

Bajin’s advice for the Italian was simple: focus on your own strengths when up against the might of Djokovic. “He's a very special human being, very special abilities. Because there's no big weakness you want to start with your own strengths. You always want to look at, ‘What can I do that's best for me?’ If that doesn't work, my next thought would be, ‘What prevents me from playing my best?’”

OBVIOUSLY GRASS FAVOURS HIM. IF HE SERVES BIG, IT'S TOUGH TO BREAK. BUT I BELIEVE IN MY RETURN
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Perhaps nerves could seep into the Djokovic psyche as he closes in on the chance to draw level with his two greatest rivals on a record-equalling 20 Grand Slam titles, but as his vanquished semi-final opponent reflected, there was no chance the 34-year-old would fade quietly.

“He does a really good job of putting pressure when it's needed, and you feel it exactly in those moments,” Shapovalov said. “He steps up. He does that really well.”

W finale Wimbledonu zmierzą się Novak Djoković i Matteo Berrettini. Dla Serba będzie to mecz o 20. wielkoszlemowy tytuł i dorównanie Rogerowi Federerowi oraz Rafaelowi Nadalowi. Włoch wystąpi w debiutanckim spotkaniu o trofeum w Wielkim Szlemie.
Marcin Motyka

Wimbledon: "To jest po prostu szaleństwo". Rywal Hurkacza zdradził, co go tak cieszy
W trzeciej z rzędu edycji Wimbledonu dojdzie do finału z udziałem Novaka Djokovicia. Przed trzema laty wygrał z Kevinem Andersonem, przed dwoma - z Rogerem Federerem. W meczu o tytuł w tym sezonie (w zeszłym roku turniej nie odbył się z powodu pandemii koronawirusa) zmierzy się z Matteo Berrettinim.
Djoković po dorównanie Federerowi i Nadalowi

Dla Djokovicia będzie to łącznie siódmy w karierze finał Wimbledonu, co daje mu drugie miejsce w historii, za Federerem (12). Dotychczas zdobył pięć tytułów (lata 2011, 2014-15 i 2018-19). Jeśli wygra w niedzielę, wyprzedzi Bjoerna Borga oraz Laurence'a Doherty'ego i samodzielnie będzie zajmował trzecie miejsce w klasyfikacji wszech czasów turnieju w Londynie.

Zarazem Serb wystąpi w 30. meczu o tytuł w Wielkim Szlemie i pod tym względem także ustępuje jedynie Federerowi (31). W przypadku zwycięstwa, zdobędzie 20. wielkoszlemowy tytuł i dorówna rekordzistom - Federerowi i Rafaelowi Nadalowi. Wykona także kolejny krok w kierunku Złotego Wielkiego Szlema. I sam wie, że właśnie to jest motywem przewodnim finału. - To znaczyłoby dla mnie wszystko. Dlatego tu jestem. Po to gram - powiedział o możliwości wyrównania osiągnięć największych rywali.

Przy wyczynach Djokovicia osiągnięcia Berrettiniego są skromne. 25-latek z Rzymu wystąpi w debiutanckim meczu o trofeum imprezy Wielkiego Szlema. Stał się czwartym włoskim finalistą wielkoszlemowym w historii, a pierwszym w Wimbledonie. Jeżeli zwycięży, zostanie trzecim singlistą ze swojego kraju z tytułem tej rangi w singlu po Nicoli Pietrangelim i Adriano Panatcie.

Obaj są niepokonani w tym roku na trawie i w drodze do finału nie trafili na rywala z czołowej "10" rankingu. Djoković, lider klasyfikacji, wyeliminował Jacka Drapera (ATP 253), Kevina Andersona (ATP 102), Denisa Kudlę (ATP 114), Cristiana Garina (ATP 20), Martona Fucsovicsa (ATP 48) i Denisa Shapovalova (ATP 12). Z kolei Berrettini, aktualnie dziewiąty singlista globu, ograł Guido Pellę (ATP 59), Botika van de Zandschulpa (ATP 139), Aljaza Bedene (ATP 64), Ilję Iwaszkę (ATP 79), Felixa Augera-Aliassime'a (ATP 19) i Huberta Hurkacza (ATP 18).

Faworyt zachowuje ostrożność

Będzie to trzeci mecz pomiędzy tymi tenisistami. Oba poprzednie wygrał Djoković. W listopadzie 2019 roku w fazie grupowej ATP Finals zwyciężył 6:2, 6:1, a 9 czerwca w ćwierćfinale Rolanda Garrosa okazał się lepszy w czterech setach [6:3, 6:2, 6:7(5), 7:5].


W niedzielę to Serb będzie zdecydowanym faworytem, ale nie lekceważy rywala. - W finale wszystko jest możliwe. Oczywiście, doświadczenie jest po mojej stronie, ale Matteo wygrał w tym roku wiele meczów na trawie i turniej w Queen's Clubie - stwierdził. A Berrettini jest pewny siebie. - Praca nie została jeszcze skończona. Skoro jestem w finale, to chcę zdobyć trofeum - zadeklarował.

Zwycięzca otrzyma 2000 punktów do rankingu ATP oraz 1,7 mln funtów premii finansowej. Początek spotkania o godz. 15:00 czasu polskiego.

Po finale singla mężczyzn odbędzie się mecz o tytuł w grze mieszanej. Rozstawieni z numerem siódmym Brytyjczyk Neal Skupski i Desirae Krawczyk z USA zmierzą się z brytyjską parą Joe Salisbury / Harriet Dart.

Plan gier 13. dnia (niedziela) wielkoszlemowego Wimbledonu 2021:

Kort centralny:

od godz. 15:00 czasu polskiego
Novak Djoković (Serbia, 1) - Matteo Berrettini (Włochy, 7)
Neal Skupski (Wielka Brytania, 7) / Desirae Krawczyk (USA, 7) - Joe Salisbury (Wielka Brytania) / Harriet Dart (Wielka Brytania)